Free medical quiz
Key Areas of the Lower Limb Quiz
Focused SBA-style practice, followed by the answer and explanation for every question.
- Free now
- 5 questions
- Full bank
- 7 questions
- Answers
- Explained
Free question
Try one with the answer
A question from this quiz. Answer it to see the explanation students get.
Just below the inguinal ligament in the femoral triangle, which of these structures lies most laterally?
- A Femoral vein You picked ✕
- B Adductor longus muscle You picked ✕
- C Femoral artery You picked ✕
- D Femoral nerve You picked ✓
- E Femoral canal containing lymphatics You picked ✕
Correct!
Incorrect
The answer is D: Femoral nerve
Explanation
Why D is correct
See The Femoral Triangle. Option D is correct. The femoral triangle is a wedge-shaped area at the top of the front of the thigh. Its upper border is the inguinal ligament (running from the bony point at the front of the pelvis to the pubic tubercle), its lateral border is the medial edge of sartorius and its medial border is the medial edge of adductor longus. Arranged from lateral to medial, the contents are the femoral nerve, artery and vein, then the femoral canal, which holds lymphatics and a small empty space. The artery, vein and canal share a fascial tube, the femoral sheath, but the nerve lies outside it, which is why it is the most lateral structure. The order matters in practice: the femoral pulse is felt, and the artery entered for procedures such as coronary angiography, in the triangle, with the vein lying just medial to the artery and the nerve lateral to it. The borders can be recalled with the acronym SAIL, for Sartorius, Adductor longus and Inguinal ligament.
- Order: From lateral to medial the contents are the femoral nerve, artery and vein, then the femoral canal.
- Nerve: It lies outside the femoral sheath, so it is the most lateral structure.
- Borders: The inguinal ligament forms the upper border, sartorius the lateral border and adductor longus the medial border.
Why the other options are incorrect
- A. Femoral vein: The femoral vein lies medial to the artery, so it is further from the lateral edge than both the nerve and the artery. Your answer
- B. Adductor longus muscle: The adductor longus is not a content of the femoral triangle. It forms its medial border and part of its floor, so it is the most medial structure of all. Your answer
- C. Femoral artery: The femoral artery lies immediately medial to the nerve. It is the structure whose pulse is felt in the groin, but it is not the most lateral. Your answer
- E. Femoral canal containing lymphatics: The femoral canal, which contains lymphatics and a deep lymph node, is the most medial of the contents, next to the vein. Your answer
With Premium, questions you miss become Revision Coach flashcards, scheduled for review.
Question preview
What you will practise
More questions from this set. Start the quiz to answer them and see each explanation.
-
1
Which structure forms the medial boundary of the femoral ring, the entrance to the femoral canal?
-
2
Which muscle forms the superomedial border of the popliteal fossa?
Revise before you test
Review SimpleMed's doctor-written article, then return here to check recall.
Read the topic articleNeed wider coverage?
Explore every Musculoskeletal System topic set, or build a tailored mixed session.
Browse subject quizzes