The anterior compartment is one of the
fascial compartments of the
thigh that contains groups of muscles together with their nerves and blood supply. The anterior compartment contains the
sartorius muscle (the longest muscle in the
body) and the
quadriceps femoris group, which consists of the
rectus femoris muscle and the three vasti muscles – the
vastus lateralis,
vastus intermedius, and the
vastus medialis. The
iliopsoas is sometimes considered a member of the anterior compartment muscles, The anterior compartment is separated from the
posterior compartment by the
lateral intermuscular septum and from the
medial compartment by the
medial intermuscular septum. Image:Gray430.png|Anterior aspect of right leg. Image:Illu lower extremity muscles.jpg|Muscles of leg
Nerve supply The nerve of the anterior compartment of thigh is the
femoral nerve. Innervation for the quadriceps muscles come from the posterior division of the femoral nerve, while the anterior division (which contains cutaneous as well as muscular components) gives a lateral and a medial branch, the second being responsible for the innervation of the sartorius muscle. The
iliacus and the
psoas major and
psoas minor muscles, sometimes considered part of the anterior compartment, do not share the same innervation. Whereas the iliacus is innervated by the femoral nerve, the psoas is innervated by ventral rami of L1-L3.
Blood supply When the
external iliac artery crosses the inguinal ligament, it becomes the
femoral artery, which supplies blood to the anterior compartment and is the largest blood vessel of the inferior member. ==Function==