Iliohypogastric and ilioinguinal nerves
Nervus iliohypogastricus et nervus ilioinguinalis
NervousNervesWhole bodyLeft and right
View left in 3D View right in 3D
- What it is
- Twin branches of L1 that emerge from the lateral border of psoas, cross in front of quadratus lumborum behind the kidney, pierce transversus abdominis above the iliac crest and run forward between the abdominal muscle layers; the lower one (ilioinguinal) passes through the inguinal canal.
- Function
- Motor to the lowest fibres of internal oblique and transversus abdominis; sensation from the skin above the pubis, the groin, the upper inner thigh and the front of the scrotum or labia.
- Size
- About 2 mm thick; ~25 cm long
- Clinical note
- They can be caught in stitches or mesh during hernia repair or low abdominal incisions, causing chronic burning groin pain; an ilioinguinal block is used for hernia surgery in children.