Posterior cutaneous nerve of thigh

Posterior cutaneous nerve of thigh
Cross-section through the middle of the thigh. (Posterior femoral cutaneous nerve labeled at bottom.)
Nerves of the right lower extremity. Posterior view. (Post. fem. cutaneus labeled at upper left.)
Details
From	sacral plexus (S1,S2,S3)
To	inferior clunial nerves, perineal branches
Identifiers
Latin	nervus cutaneus femoris posterior
Dorlands /Elsevier	n_05/12565565
TA	A14.2.07.033
FMA	45337
Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy []

The posterior cutaneous nerve of the thigh (also called the posterior femoral cutaneous nerve) provides innervation to the skin of the posterior surface of the thigh and leg, as well as to the skin of the perineum.

The posterior cutaneous nerve of the thigh is a nerve from the sacral plexus. It arises partly from the dorsal divisions of the first and second, and from the ventral divisions of the second and third sacral nerves, and issues from the pelvis through the greater sciatic foramen below the piriformis muscle.

It then descends beneath the gluteus maximus with the inferior gluteal artery, and runs down the back of the thigh beneath the fascia lata, and over the long head of the biceps femoris to the back of the knee; here it pierces the deep fascia and accompanies the small saphenous vein to about the middle of the back of the leg, its terminal twigs communicating with the sural nerve.

Its branches are all cutaneous, and are distributed to the gluteal region, the perineum, and the back of the thigh and leg.

Cutaneous nerves of the right lower extremity. Front and posterior views.

Cutaneous nerves of the right lower extremity. Front and posterior views.

Schematic of sacral plexus. Posterior cutaneous nerve of thigh is labeled at the bottom.

This article incorporates text in the public domain from the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)