00:01
Similar to the upper limb,
we have a tight layer of deep fascia that
is running all over the lower limb. Here, we
see the anterior surface of the lower limb,
and here we see the posterior surface and you
see we have this glistening white membrane,
which is the deep fascia. Superficial to the
deep fascia, we have the superficial fascia,
which is in the subcutaneous tissue just deep
to the skin. This, like the superficial fascia
of the upper limb, is made up of loose connective
tissue and can contain fats. The superficial
fascia of the lower limb, again just like of the
upper limb, is pierced by those cutaneous
nerves and superficial veins. Anterior to
the knee joints, the loose fascia is tightly
adhered to the deep fascia of the lateral and
anterior aspects, and that enables effective
contraction of the knee joint and it prevents
any fascia from being trapped due to flexion
of the knee. Between the superficial fascia
and skeletal muscles, we have the deep
fascia. And again, that is similar to the
fascia of the upper limb. This is made up
of dense, well-organized connective tissue,
and there is no fat. So here we have the deep
fascia of the lower limb. Specifically, we?re
going to talk about the fascia lata.
01:31
The deep fascia is very strong and it tightly contains
all the muscles of the lower limb. This increases
the contractile efficiency. So the direction
of the pole from this muscles, when they contract,
is controlled and it?s very streamlined.
The deep fascia of the thigh is the fascia
lata, and it connects to the inguinal ligament
superiorly, the iliac crest superlaterally,
the sacrum and the coccyx posteriorly, and
it?s continuous with the distal femur, and
also the deep fascia of the leg. So it?s a
tight span that covers the anterior, lateral,
medial, and posterior aspects of the thigh.
Here we have the fascia lata. It?s thickened
laterally and forms the iliotibial tract.
And this iliotibial tract runs from the iliac
tubercle to the anterolateral tibial tubercle.
So it runs from the ilium all the way down
to the tibia. And we have the iliotibial tract,
the aponeurosis of the tensor fascia lata,
and the gluteus maximus. So this is where
gluteus maximus and tensor fascia lata pass
into this iliotibial tract, it is the tendon
effectively. It is also continuous with the
intramuscular septa and forms muscular compartments.
So it?s very similar to that of the upper limb.