| Sciatic Nerve |
|
Left gluteal region, showing surface markings for arteries and sciatic nerve
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| Details |
| Latin |
Nervus ischiadicus |
| From |
Lumbar and sacral plexus (L4-S3) |
| To |
Tibial and common fibular nerve |
| Innervates |
Lateral rotator group (except piriformis and quadratus femoris) and the posterior compartment of thigh |
| Identifiers |
| Gray's |
p.960 |
Dorlands
/Elsevier |
n_05/12566006 |
| TA |
A14.2.07.046 |
| FMA |
19034 |
| Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy |
The sciatic nerve (; also called ischiadic nerve, ischiatic nerve) is a large nerve in humans and other animals. It begins in the lower back and runs through the buttock and down the lower limb. It is the longest and widest single nerve in the human body, going from the top of the leg to the foot on the posterior aspect.[1] The sciatic nerve provides the connection to the nervous system for nearly the whole of the skin of the leg, the muscles of the back of the thigh, and those of the leg and foot. It is derived from spinal nerves L4 to S3. It contains fibres from both the anterior and posterior divisions of the lumbosacral plexus.
Contents
- 1 Structure
- 2 Function
- 3 Clinical significance
- 3.1 Sciatica
- 3.2 Injury
- 3.3 Other disease
- 4 Society and culture
- 5 See also
- 6 Additional images
- 7 See also
- 8 Notes
- 9 References
- 10 External links
Structure
The sciatic nerve is formed from the L4 to S3 segments of the sacral plexus, a collection of nerve fibres that emerge from the sacral part of the spinal cord. The fibres unite to form a single nerve in front of the piriformis muscle. The nerve passes beneath piriformis and through the greater sciatic foramen, exiting the pelvis.[2]:422-4 From here, it travels down the posterior thigh to the popliteal fossa. The nerve travels in the posterior compartment of the thigh behind the adductor magnus muscle, and is itself in front of the one head of the biceps femoris muscle. At some point between the pelvis and popliteal fossa, the nerve divides into its two branches:[2]:532
- The tibial nerve, which travels down the posterior compartment of the leg into the foot
- The common fibular nerve, which travels down the anterior and lateral compartments of the leg into the foot
The sciatic nerve is the largest nerve in the human body.[2] :422-4
Tibial and common peroneal nerve
Development
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This section requires expansion. (March 2014) |
Function
The sciatic nerve innervates the skin of the foot, as well as the entire lower leg (except for its medial side). The skin to the sole of the foot is provided by the tibial nerve, and the lower leg and upper surface of the foot via the common fibular nerve.[2]:422-4
The sciatic nerve also innervates muscles. In particular:[2] :422-4
- Via the tibial nerve, the muscles in the posterior compartment of the leg and sole of the foot. [a]
- Via the common fibular nerve, the muscles in the anterior and lateral compartments of the leg. [b]
Clinical significance
Sciatica
Main article: Sciatica
Pain caused by a compression or irritation of the sciatic nerve by a problem in the lower back is called sciatica. Common causes of sciatica include the following lower back and hip conditions: spinal disc herniation, degenerative disc disease, lumbar spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, and piriformis syndrome.[3] Other acute causes of sciatica include coughing, muscular hypertension, and sneezing.[4]
Injury
Sciatic nerve injury occurs between 0.5% and 2.0% of the time during total hip arthroplasty.[5] Sciatic nerve palsy is a complication of total hip arthroplasty with an incidence of 0.2% to 2.8% of the time, or with an incidence of 1.7% to 7.6% following revision.[6] Following the procedure, in rare cases, a screw, broken piece of trochanteric wire, fragment of methyl methacrylate bone cement, or Burch-Schneider metal cage can impinge on the nerve; this can cause sciatic nerve palsy which may resolve after the fragment is removed and the nerve freed. The nerve can be surrounded in oxidized regenerated cellulose to prevent further scarring. Sciatic nerve palsy can also result from severe spinal stenosis following the procedure, which can be addressed by spinal decompression surgery.[5][7]
Other disease
Bernese periacetabular osteotomy resulted in major nerve deficits in the sciatic or femoral nerves in 2.1% of 1760 patients, of whom approximately half experienced complete recovery within a mean of 5.5 months.[8]
Sciatic nerve exploration can be done by endoscopy in a minimally invasive procedure to assess lesions of the nerve.[9] Endoscopic treatment for sciatic nerve entrapment has been investigated in deep gluteal syndrome; "Patients were treated with sciatic nerve decompression by resection of fibrovascular scar bands, piriformis tendon release, obturator internus, or quadratus femoris or by hamstring tendon scarring."[10]
Society and culture
According to Jewish law, the sciatic nerve (Hebrew: Gid hanasheh) cannot be eaten, to commemorate Jacob's victory over an Angel.[11]
According to Islamic tradition, Jacob was suffering from sciatica. This caused him immense pain. In order to be relieved from the pain, he made a vow with God promising not to ever touch camel meat if he is relieved of the pain. He was relieved and therefore, subsequently never partook of camel meat again.
See also
- Lesser sciatic notch
- Greater sciatic notch
Additional images
-
-
Structures surrounding right hip-joint.
-
Nerves of the right lower extremity. Posterior view.
-
-
-
See also
This article uses anatomical terminology; for an overview, see anatomical terminology.
Notes
- ^ Namely the flexor hallicus longus, flexor digitorum longus, tibialis posterior and popliteus of the deep part of the compartment, and the gastrocnemius, soleus and plantaris of the superficial part of the compartment.
- ^ Namely the tibialis anterior, extensor hallucis longus, extensor digitorum longus, and fibularis tertius (peroneus tertius) of the anterior compartment, and the Fibularis longus and brevis of the lateral compartment.
References
This article incorporates text in the public domain from the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)
- ^ "sciatic nerve (anatomy)". Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
- ^ a b c d e Drake, Richard L.; Vogl, Wayne; Tibbitts, Adam W.M. Mitchell; illustrations by Richard; Richardson, Paul (2005). Gray's anatomy for students. Philadelphia: Elsevier/Churchill Livingstone. ISBN 978-0-8089-2306-0.
- ^ "Sciatica - Topic Overview". WebMD. 21 July 2010. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
- ^ "What is sciatica: What causes sciatica?". MedicalBug. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
- ^ a b James B. Stiehl MD and William A. Stewart MD (1998). "Late Sciatic Nerve Entrapment Following Pelvic Plate Reconstruction in Total Hip Arthroplasty" (PDF). The Journal of Arthroplasty 13 (5): 587–589.
- ^ Alessandro Bistolfi et al. (2011). "Operative Management of Sciatic Nerve Palsy due to Impingement on the Metal Cage after Total Hip Revision: Case Report". Case Report Med. p. 830296.
- ^ PMID 2290087 is cited by Stiehl and Stewart for the 0.5-2.0% figure.
- ^ PMID 22684336
- ^ PMID 15343436
- ^ PMID 21071168
- ^ Goldberger, Moshe. "1: Not to Eat the Gid HaNasheh". The First Prohibitions. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
External links
- Sciatic_nerve at the Duke University Health System's Orthopedics program
- MedlinePlus Image 19503
- pelvis at The Anatomy Lesson by Wesley Norman (Georgetown University) (pelvicnerves)
- glutealregion at The Anatomy Lesson by Wesley Norman (Georgetown University) (glutealner)
- Sciatica and the Sciatic Nerve
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Nerves of the lumbosacral plexus
|
|
| Lumbar plexus |
|
iliohypogastric
|
- lateral cutaneous branch
- anterior cutaneous branch
|
|
|
ilioinguinal
|
- anterior scrotal ♂/labial ♀
|
|
|
genitofemoral
|
- femoral branch
- genital branch
|
|
|
Lateral cutaneous
|
|
|
|
obturator
|
- anterior
- posterior
- accessory
|
|
|
femoral
|
- anterior cutaneous branches
- saphenous
- (infrapatellar
- medial crural cutaneous
|
|
|
| sacral plexus |
|
sciatic
|
|
common peroneal
|
- lateral sural cutaneous
- deep peroneal
- lateral terminal branch
- medial terminal branch
- dorsal digital
- superficial peroneal
- medial dorsal cutaneous
- intermediate dorsal cutaneous
- dorsal digital
|
|
|
tibial
|
- medial sural cutaneous
- medial calcaneal
- medial plantar (common plantar digital nerves
- proper plantar digital)
- lateral plantar (deep branch
- superficial branch
- common plantar digital
- proper plantar digital)
|
|
|
sural
|
- lateral dorsal cutaneous
- lateral calcaneal
|
|
|
|
other
|
- Muscular
- superior gluteal
- inferior gluteal
- lateral rotator group (to quadratus femoris
- to obturator internus
- to the piriformis)
cutaneous: posterior cutaneous of thigh (inferior cluneal
- perineal branches)
- perforating cutaneous
|
|
|
| coccygeal plexus |
- pudendal
- perineal
- deep
- posterior scrotal ♂/labial ♀)
- dorsal of the penis ♂/clitoris ♀
- anococcygeal
|
|
- cutaneous innervation of the lower limbs
|
|
|
Index of the peripheral nervous system
|
|
| Description |
- Anatomy
- Nerves
- cranial
- trigeminal
- cervical
- brachial
- lumbosacral plexus
- somatosensory
- spinal
- autonomic
- Physiology
- reflexes
- proteins
- neurotransmitters
- transporters
- Development
|
|
| Disease |
- Autonomic
- Congenital
- Injury
- Neoplasms and cancer
- Other
- Symptoms and signs
|
|
| Treatment |
- Procedures
- Local anesthetics
|
|
|
