In
humans the
thigh is the area between the
pelvis and
buttocks and the
knee. Anatomically, it is part of the
lower limb.
There is one bone in the thigh called the femur. This bone is very thick and strong, and forms a ball and socket joint at the hip, and a condylar joint at the knee.
In cross-section, the thigh is divided up into three
fascial compartments. These compartments are have the femur as an axis, and are separated by tough
connective tissue membranes (or
septa). Each of these compartments has its on
blood and
nerve supply, and contains a different group of
muscles.
This contains the flexors of the hip, and extensors of the knee, such as the
quadriceps femoris[?]. These muscles are supplied by the
femoral nerve[?] and the
femoral artery.
The
obturator nerve[?] supplies the hip adductors in this compartment. Muscles include
adductor longus[?],
adductor brevis[?] and
gracilis[?].
The muscles here are the
hamstrings. These muscles flex the knee, and extend the hip. This compartment is
sciatic nerve territory.
Saphenous vein etc.