| Popliteal fossa | |
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| Lateral aspect of right leg. | |
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| Lymph glands of popliteal fossa. | |
| Latin | fossa poplitea |
| Gray's | subject #158 631 |
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. Colloquially, it is referred to as a "knee pit."
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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 |
Roof
The roof is formed by (from superficial to deep). 1. Skin. 2. Superficial fascia which contains short saphenous vein, three cutaneous nerves i.e, terminal branch of posterior cutaneous nerve of thigh, posterior division of medial cutaneous nerve, and peroneal or sural communicating nerve. 3.Deep fascia or popliteal fascia.
Floor
The floor is formed by. 1.The popliteal surface of femur 2.Capsule of knee joint and the oblique Popliteal ligament 3.strong fascia covering the Popliteal 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. |
 The popliteal, posterior tibial, and peroneal arteries. |
 Nerves of the right lower extremity Posterior view. |
External links
- Anatomy at Dartmouth knee/surface/surface4
- postthigh at The Anatomy Lesson by Wesley Norman (Georgetown University) (poplitealfossabones, poplitealfossacontents, poplitealfossafloor)
- Popliteal+fossa at eMedicine Dictionary
- Mnemonic at medicalmnemonics.com 2747 9
- Diagram at nus.edu.sg
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