Morphology of Quadriceps Femoris Muscle, a Cadaveric Study with Emphasis on its Neurovascular Pedicles

Introduction: The components of quadriceps femoris muscle are used as musculocutaneous flap and pedicled flap to fill the large defects created by the pressure sores, which communicate with the hip joint. In this context, the objective was to measure the lengths of the quadriceps femoris muscle components, which include rectus femoris and three vasti muscles. Material and Methods: formalin fixed 30 cadavers of lower limb specimens were meticulously dissected to find the neurovascular pedicles of all the components of quadriceps femoris muscles. Among them 22 were male and 8 were female. Distance at which neurovascular pedicles enter the individual muscles since the prominent bony benchmarks namely pubic symphysis, anterior superior iliac spine and adductor tubercle. The parameters were studied using the measuring tape and digital vernier caliper. results: the present study observed that the mean length of rectus femoris muscle was 42.9 ± 3.38cm, vastus medialis was 36.68 ± 2.09 cm, vastus intermedius was 39.42 ± 2.01 cm, and vastus lateralis was 41.1 ± 2.63 cm. The study observed that there wasn’t much significant difference of muscle length between the male and female (p>0.05). Conclusion: the present study provided important data of the components of quadriceps femoris muscle. These muscles are used for the pedicle flap in reconstructive surgeries like perforator flap to treat the defects around the knee and complicated pressure sores.