PA Anatomy: Pelvis: Case 1

What normally passes through the obturator foramen? It is such a large opening, you might expect a large object to pass through, but mostly it is covered by a dense fibrous membrane, with just a tiny opening in the upper anterior portion for the obturator nerve, artery and vein to pass through.

These images are from a normal pelvic CT in a different patient. In the lower images, the obturator internis muscle is outlined in purple, the obturator externis muscle in yellow, and the obturator artery in red, vein in blue, and nerve in green. Can you see the vessels and nerve passing through the foramen?