Lateral femoral cutaneous nerve

Nervus cutaneus femoris lateralis

NervousNervesWhole bodyLeft and right

View left in 3D View right in 3D

What it is
A sensory branch of L2-L3 that crosses the iliacus muscle toward the anterior superior iliac spine and passes under (sometimes through) the inguinal ligament just medial to it into the outer thigh.
Function
Sensation from the skin of the front and outer thigh down to the knee.
Size
About 1.5 mm thick; ~30 cm long
Clinical note
Meralgia paraesthetica - burning numbness of the outer thigh - is caused by compression at the inguinal ligament from tight belts, obesity or pregnancy.

Part of Lumbar plexus

Nearby nervous structures Cauda equina, Femoral nerve, Filum terminale, Iliohypogastric and ilioinguinal nerves, Obturator nerve, Sacral plexus, Spinal cord, Spinal dura mater (dural sac), Sympathetic trunk, Thoracic splanchnic nerves