Obturator internus at a glance
- What it is
- A lateral rotator of the hip that arises inside the pelvis and leaves through the lesser sciatic foramen.
- Location
- Originates from the inner surface of the obturator membrane and surrounding pelvic bone, and inserts onto the medial surface of the greater trochanter of the femur.
- Function
- Laterally rotates the extended thigh and abducts the flexed thigh; it also helps hold the femoral head in the acetabulum.
- Body system
- Muscular · paired (left and right)
- FMA ID
- FMA22324 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)
Key facts
- Innervation: nerve to obturator internus (L5–S1)
- Blood supply: obturator and internal pudendal arteries
- Its fascia gives origin to part of the levator ani
Structures next to the obturator internus
The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:
- Obturator externus · muscular
- Gemellus superior · muscular
- Gemellus inferior · muscular
- Gluteus maximus · muscular
- Lateral circumflex femoral artery · cardiovascular
- Quadratus femoris · muscular
- Deferent duct · reproductive
- Piriformis · muscular
- Seminal vesicle · reproductive
- Pubococcygeus · muscular
References
- Foundational Model of Anatomy: Obturator internus (FMA22324). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
- OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §11.2 Naming Skeletal Muscles. Rice University, 2022.
- Mitsuhashi N. et al. (2009). BodyParts3D: 3D structure database for anatomical concepts. Nucleic Acids Research 37, D782–D785. Data © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0.
Related anatomy
Explore the whole body in the interactive 3D human anatomy model, or browse the A–Z list of human structures.