Genital branch of genitofemoral nerve

Genital branch of genitofemoral nerve
Deep and superficial dissection of the lumbar plexus (external spermatic branch of genitofemoral labeled at bottom right)
Details
Latin	Ramus genitalis nervi genitofemoralis
From	Genitofemoral nerve
Innervates	Cremaster and dartos muscle
Identifiers
Dorlands /Elsevier	r_02/12690192
TA
TH	{{#property:P1694}}
TE	{{#property:P1693}}
FMA	{{#property:P1402}}
Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy [[[d:|edit on Wikidata]]]

The genital branch of the genitofemoral nerve, also known as the external spermatic nerve, is a nerve in the abdomen that arises from the genitofemoral nerve. The genital branch supplies the cremaster muscle and anterior scrotal skin in males, and the skin of the mons pubis and labia majora in females.

Structure

The genital branch of the genitofemoral nerve arises from the ventral primary divisions of L1-L2 spinal nerve roots. It passes outward on the psoas major muscle, and pierces the fascia transversalis, or passes through the deep inguinal ring. It then descends within the spermatic cord. In males, it passes through to the scrotum, where it supplies the cremaster, dartos muscle and gives a few filaments to the skin of the scrotum. In females, it accompanies the round ligament of the uterus, where is terminates as the nerve supplying skin to the labia majora and mons pubis.

Function

The genital branch of the genitofemoral nerve is responsible for the motor portion of the cremasteric reflex, which describes contraction of the cremasteric muscle when the skin of the superior medial part of the thigh is touched.

See also

This article uses anatomical terminology; for an overview, see Anatomical terminology.

References

This article incorporates text in the public domain from the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)

External links

• Anatomy photo:36:07-0305 at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center - "Inguinal Region, Scrotum and Testes: Layers of the Spermatic Cord"