Clinical Anatomy of Saphenous Nerve Entrapment

Objective:To investigate anatomical basis of saphenous nerve entrapment.Methods:In 20 cadavers and 15 lower limbs,saphenous nerve were observed,measured and located in the positions of the nerve corssing the compact tissue.Results:In the position of saphenous nerve corssing the hole of anterior wall of adductor canal in the thign,the nerve was 2.7±0.4mm in width and 1.2±0.3mm in thickness.Being 5.2±0.7mm in width and 14.1±2.4mm in hightness,the hole was much larger than the nerve in it in diameter.In the slit between the tendons of satorius and gracilis in the knee,the nerve was 2.2±0.3mm in width and 0.8±0.2mm in thickness,saphenous nerve was thicker in the knee(thickness/width:0.37)than in the thigh(thickness/width:0.46).The nerve was so closed to the tendons of satorius and gracilis that friction occurred among the nerve and tendons when the knee flexed and extended.Some results of nerve location were put forward for the diagnosis and treatment of saphenous nerve eatrapment.Conclusion:The saphenous nerve was entrapped more possibly in the slit between the tendons of satorius and gracilis in the knee than in the hole of anterior wall of adductor canal in the thigh.