Genitofemoral nerve

Nerve: Genitofemoral nerve
Plan of lumbar plexus. (Genitofemoral nerve visible at upper left.)
The lumbar plexus and its branches. (Genitofemoral nerve visible at upper left.)
Latin	nervus genitofemoralis
Gray's	subject #212 953
Innervates	cremaster
From	lumbar plexus
To	lumboinguinal, genital branch

In human anatomy, the genitofemoral nerve originates from the upper part of the lumbar plexus of spinal nerves. Its roots are L1 and L2 (lumbar).

The genitofemoral nerve is responsible for both the efferent and afferent limbs of the cremasteric reflex. The ilioinguinal nerve (L1) is also involved in the afferent limb of the reflex.

It emerges on the anterior surface of the psoas major muscle and divides into two branches:

• The femoral branch, or lumboinguinal nerve, supplies skin anterior to the upper part of the femoral triangle
• The genital branch:
  • in males, it travels through the superficial inguinal ring, along with the spermatic cord, and supplies the cremaster muscle and the scrotal skin
  • in females, it ends in the skin of the mons pubis and labia majora

Additional images

Deep and superficial dissection of the lumbar plexus.

Sacral plexus of the right side.

External links

• SUNY Labs 36:07-0305 - "Inguinal Region, Scrotum and Testes: Layers of the spermatic cord"
• SUNY Figs 40:07-13 - "Muscles and nerves of the posterior abdominal wall."
• Anatomy at MUN nerve/lumbnerv
• posteriorabdomen at The Anatomy Lesson by Wesley Norman (Georgetown University) (posteriorabdmus&nerves)