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An Ode to the Thigh
I dissected the thigh today. Unexpectedly, it was my favourite dissection so far in medical school. Beautiful, intricately structured layers. The fascia here is not disorganised like it is in other areas of the body; it is a cohesive sheath which blankets and envelops the underlying muscle, save for a small, palpable port-hole through which emerges the singular great saphenous vein, running down to the foot in an unbroken fashion, its route traceable as if following the path of a wire behind a table. This remarkable arrangement earns it the name fascia lata, or the “great fascia”.
The fascia here is not disorganised like it is in other areas of the body; it is a cohesive sheath which blankets and envelops the underlying muscle, save for a small, palpable port-hole through which emerges the singular great saphenous vein, running down to the foot in an unbroken fashion, its route traceable as if following the path of a wire behind a table. This close association is a remnant of its function in life: it restricts the external expansion of the lower limb muscles, forcing the pressure of their contractions to be directed inwards, thus massaging the veins of these far-flung regions of the body. This remarkable stroke of biological efficiency leverages the ordinary motions of these muscles to aid venous return where blood’s battle against gravity is at its most acute.
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