Which nerve innervates a hip abductor muscle located on the greater trochanter?

Which nerve innervates a hip abductor muscle located on the greater trochanter?

• A. Superior gluteal nerve
• B. Inferior gluteal nerve
• C. Femoral nerve
• D. Obturator nerve

Answer: (A)

The question is testing which nerve supplies the hip abductor muscles that attach to the greater trochanter. The primary abductors here are the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus, which insert on the greater trochanter and lift the thigh away from the midline. These muscles are innervated by the superior gluteal nerve (L4–S1), which travels to the gluteal muscles after exiting the pelvis above the piriformis. The other nerves don’t fit because they innervate muscles with different actions or locations: the inferior gluteal nerve goes to the gluteus maximus (primarily an extensor), the femoral nerve supplies the anterior thigh muscles, and the obturator nerve supplies the medial thigh adductors.

The question is testing which nerve supplies the hip abductor muscles that attach to the greater trochanter. The primary abductors here are the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus, which insert on the greater trochanter and lift the thigh away from the midline. These muscles are innervated by the superior gluteal nerve (L4–S1), which travels to the gluteal muscles after exiting the pelvis above the piriformis.

The other nerves don’t fit because they innervate muscles with different actions or locations: the inferior gluteal nerve goes to the gluteus maximus (primarily an extensor), the femoral nerve supplies the anterior thigh muscles, and the obturator nerve supplies the medial thigh adductors.