The anterior branch of the obturator nerve leaves the pelvis in front of the Obturator externus and descends in front of the Adductor brevis, and behind the Pectineus and Adductor longus; at the lower border of the latter muscle it communicates with the anterior cutaneous and saphenous branches of the femoral nerve

Femoral nerve

The femoral nerve, the largest branch of the lumbar plexus, arises from the dorsal divisions of the ventral rami of the second, third, and fourth lumbar nerves...

, forming a kind of plexus

Plexus

A plexus is a part of nervous system. Plexus has a slightly different definition in vertebrates and in invertebrates.- In vertebrates :In vertebrates, a plexus is an area where nerves branch and rejoin. The electrical signals do not mix; rather, the fibres travel together with their electrical...

.

It then descends upon the femoral artery

Femoral artery

The femoral artery is a general term comprising a few large arteries in the thigh. They begin at the inguinal ligament and end just above the knee at adductor canal or Hunter's canal traversing the extent of the femur bone....

, to which it is finally distributed. Near the obturator foramen the nerve gives off an articular branch to the hip joint.

Behind the Pectineus, it distributes branches to the Adductor longus and Gracilis

Gracilis muscle

The gracilis is the most superficial muscle on the medial side of the thigh. It is thin and flattened, broad above, narrow and tapering below.-Origin and insertion:...

, and usually to the Adductor brevis, and in rare cases to the Pectineus; it receives a communicating branch from the accessory obturator nerve when that nerve is present.

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