The femoral nerve splits into the anterior and the posterior branch
The femoral nerve innervates the muscles in the anterior compartment of the thigh
The anterior branch of the femoral nerve innervates the sartorius muscle – and sometimes the pectineus muscle
The posterior femoral nerve branch innervates most of the muscles in the anterior compartment of the thigh – i.e. the quadriceps femoris (the rectus femoris and the three vastus muscles)
Before the femoral nerve emerges from under the inguinal ligament it also innervates the iliac muscle and the femoral artery
The quadriceps femoris muscle is innervated by the posterior femoral nerve branch. The quadriceps femoris muscle and the sartorius muscle are both depicted in turquoise colour. The sartorius muscle is innervated by the anterior femoral nerve branch.
