The popliteal fossa (sometimes referred to colloquially as the knee pit, or poplit) is a shallow depression located at the back of the knee joint. The bones of the popliteal fossa are the femur and the tibia.
The boundaries of the fossa are:
superior and medial: the semimembranosus muscle
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 and plantaris muscle
The roof is formed by (from superficial to deep):
skin
superficial fascia, which contains the small saphenous vein, the terminal branch of the posterior cutaneous nerve of the thigh, posterior division of the medial cutaneous nerve, lateral sural cutaneous nerve, and medial sural cutaneous nerve
deep fascia or popliteal fascia
The floor is formed by:
the popliteal surface of the femur
the capsule of the knee joint and the oblique popliteal ligament
strong fascia covering the popliteus muscle
Contents
Structures within the popliteal fossa include, (from superficial to deep):
tibial nerve
popliteal vein
popliteal artery, a continuation of the femoral artery
small saphenous vein (termination)
common fibular nerve (also known as the common peroneal nerve)
Popliteal lymph nodes and vessels
It is of note that the common fibular nerve also begins at the superior angle of the popliteal fossa.
This definition incorporates text from the wikipedia website - Wikipedia: The free encyclopedia. (2004, July 22). FL: Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Retrieved August 10, 2004, from http://www.wikipedia.org
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