Expansion
From superficial to deep, tibial nerve, popliteal vein, popliteal artery
Mnemonic
“Nerve, Vein, Artery” from superficial to deep, so the artery lies deepest and closest to the bone.
- N - tibial Nerve, most superficial, with the common fibular nerve at the lateral border
- V - popliteal Vein
- A - popliteal Artery, deepest, against the joint capsule
Boundaries are “two above, two below”: biceps femoris and the two semis above, the two heads of gastrocnemius below.
Because the artery is deepest and tethered, it is the structure injured in posterior knee dislocation and in supracondylar femoral fracture, and its pulse is the hardest in the body to feel.
Expansion
Contents (superficial to deep):
- Tibial nerve (and common fibular nerve at the lateral edge)
- Popliteal vein
- Popliteal artery (deepest, on the floor)
Borders:
- Superolateral - biceps femoris
- Superomedial - semimembranosus and semitendinosus
- Inferolateral and inferomedial - the two heads of gastrocnemius