THE BLOOD SUPPLY AND NERVE INNERVATION OF THE GRACILIS MUSCLE / 解剖学报

ABSTRACT

The blood vessels, nerves and the size of the gracilis muscle were studied in 50 adult Chinese cadavers (43 males and 7 females).In average, the length of the gracilis muscles is 325 mm the breadth is 26.18mm the thickness is 6.56mm. The length of its tendon is 112.78 mm.The nutrient arteries of the gracilis muscle may arise from the profund femoral artery, medial circumflex femoral artery, the first perforating artery, femoral artery, popliteal artery, supreme genicular artery or obturator artery. Among them, the profund femoral artery and femoral artery give off constant branches to the gracilis muscle.The dominant nutrient artery of the gracilis muscle arises from the profund femoral artery in 94 cases (94％), from the medial circumflex femoral artery in 5 cases (5％). There is only one case (1％) arising from the first perforating artery.The average length of the dominant nutrient artery is 83.6mm. Its diameter in the origin is 2.24mm. and outside the hilum, 1.44mm. The distance from the vascular hilum to the pubic tubercle is 142.48mm. The surface respresentation of the dominant neuro-vascular hilum is situated at the junction point of the upper and middle thirds of the line joining the pubic tubercle to the adductor tubercle.There are 72.5％ of the dominant nutrient arteries of the gracilis muscle accompanying with two veins and 27.5％, with only one vein.The gracilis muscle is innervated by the anterior branch of the obturator nerve which accompanies the dominant nutrient artery entering the muscle. Its average diameter is 1.78mm.