Which structures course through the entire length of the adductor canal?

Which structures course through the entire length of the adductor canal?

• A. Femoral artery and vein
• B. Saphenous nerve
• C. Nerve to vastus medialis
• D. Descending genicular vessels

Answer: (A)

The adductor canal is a fascial tunnel through which the main vascular highway of the thigh travels en route to the knee. The vessels that run the entire length of this canal are the femoral artery and the femoral vein; they enter the canal in the proximal part and continue distally, passing through the adductor hiatus to become the popliteal artery and vein in the leg. The saphenous nerve does accompany the vessels for much of the canal, but its course is not the same continuous passage through the entire tunnel as the vessels, since it branches off and ultimately supplies the medial leg skin. The nerve to vastus medialis and the descending genicular vessels do not traverse the entire length of the canal in the same way.

The adductor canal is a fascial tunnel through which the main vascular highway of the thigh travels en route to the knee. The vessels that run the entire length of this canal are the femoral artery and the femoral vein; they enter the canal in the proximal part and continue distally, passing through the adductor hiatus to become the popliteal artery and vein in the leg. The saphenous nerve does accompany the vessels for much of the canal, but its course is not the same continuous passage through the entire tunnel as the vessels, since it branches off and ultimately supplies the medial leg skin. The nerve to vastus medialis and the descending genicular vessels do not traverse the entire length of the canal in the same way.