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Review
. 2024 Dec;53(3):328-334.
doi: 10.5644/ama2006-124.465.

Obturator Nerve Variations: A Narrative Review

Rouan Barakat  1 , Viktoria-Maria Karaflou  2 , Panagiotis Giavopoulos  3 , Nikolaos Pappas  3 , Georgios Tsakotos  3 , Dimitrios Filippou  2
Affiliations
Review

Obturator Nerve Variations: A Narrative Review

Rouan Barakat et al. Acta Med Acad. 2024 Dec.

Abstract

The aim is to understand the clinical significance of these variations in surgeries and diseases. To conduct this review, we used the PubMed database, considering factors such as the availability of full texts, the language and relevance to the topic, in order to acquire comprehensive and detailed findings. After applying our exclusion criteria, we narrowed the findings down to 11 useful results. Throughout our study, we observed significant variations concerning the obturator nerve. The nerve displays diverse paths and trajectories, leading to deviations from the commonly accepted anatomical description. Additionally, we identified variations in the division point of the obturator nerve and the resulting innervation patterns that it provides for muscles, joints, and skin. More precisely, we discovered differences regarding the path, the source and the level of composition. Moreover, the muscles innervated by the obturator nerve's anterior branch and posterior branch may vary. Furthermore, variations were observed in the innervation of both the skin and joints. CONCLUSION: Our research demonstrates that the obturator nerve is susceptible to many forms of variations. Accurate knowledge of these variations is crucial for minimizing iatrogenic complications and ensuring patient care.

Keywords: Lower Limb Innervation; Lumbar Plexus Variations; Peripheral Nerve Variations.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart describing the narrative review selection progress.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Illustration of variations related to the origin of the hip joint articular branch deriving from the obturator nerve.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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