Popliteal fossa
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| Popliteal fossa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Lateral aspect of right leg. | |
| Latin | fossa poplitea |
| Gray's | subject #158 631 |
| Dorlands/Elsevier | f_14/12376523 |
The popliteal fossa is a space or shallow depression located at the back of the knee-joint.
The bones of the popliteal fossa are the femur and the tibia.
Contents |
Boundaries
The boundaries of the fossa are:
| superior and medial: the semitendinosus muscle (semimembranosus is medial to the semitendinosus.) | superior and lateral: the biceps femoris muscle |
| inferior and medial: the medial head of the gastrocnemius muscle | inferior and lateral: the lateral head of the gastrocnemius muscle |
Contents
The popliteal fossa houses:
- popliteal artery, which is a continuation of the femoral artery
- popliteal vein
- tibial nerve
- common peroneal nerve
- Six or seven popliteal lymph nodes are embedded in the fat
The roof contains a portion of the small saphenous vein and posterior cutaneous nerve of the thigh.
See also
Additional images
 Muscles of the gluteal and posterior femoral regions. |
 Small saphenous vein and its tributaries. |
 Lymph glands of popliteal fossa. |
 The popliteal, posterior tibial, and peroneal arteries. |
 Nerves of the right lower extremity Posterior view. |
External links
- Anatomy at Dartmouth knee/surface/surface4
- Norman/Georgetown postthigh (poplitealfossabones, poplitealfossacontents, poplitealfossafloor)
- Popliteal+fossa at eMedicine Dictionary
- Mnemonic at medicalmnemonics.com 2747 9
- Diagram at washington.edu
- Diagram at nus.edu.sg
