Looped inferior gluteal nerve – a novel variation

Abstract

Variations of inferior gluteal nerve are very rare. Knowledge of its variations is of importance in plastic surgery and orthopedic surgery procedures of hip. We report a unique variation of inferior gluteal nerve. During the dissection of left gluteal region of a male cadaver aged approximately 70 years, we observed inferior gluteal nerve with two roots. The superior root pierced the piriformis muscle, and the inferior root emerged out through the greater sciatic foramen, below the piriformis. The two roots joined to form a loop superficial to the piriformis muscle. The loop gave four branches. Two among these branches supplied the gluteus maximus muscle, third one joined the tibial nerve and the fourth one divided into two branches which communicated with the common fibular nerve and the posterior cutaneous nerve of the thigh. In a case like this, the entrapment of the superior root in piriformis may lead to weakness of gluteus maximus muscle.