Which muscles are innervated by the obturator nerve?

The obturator nerve primarily innervates a specific group of muscles located in the medial compartment of the thigh, which are predominantly involved in adduction of the thigh. The muscles innervated by the obturator nerve include the obturator externus, adductor longus, adductor brevis, and a portion of the adductor magnus. By understanding the function and location of these muscles, one can see how critical the obturator nerve is in enabling actions such as bringing the legs together and stabilizing the pelvis during movement.

In contrast, the other options include muscles that are innervated by different nerves; for example, the gracilis muscle, while indeed innervated by the obturator nerve, does not include all of those listed in option B. The pectineus muscle is primarily innervated by the femoral nerve. The semitendinosus, which is a part of the hamstring group, is innervated by the sciatic nerve. Additionally, the quadriceps and hamstring muscles, listed in option C, are innervated by both the femoral and sciatic nerves, respectively, further solidifying that these muscles do not belong under the obturator nerve's innervation.

Understanding nerve inn