One week following a sexual encounter at a ski resort in Colorado, a young woman develops a painful ,swollen knee joint. The emergency department physician suspects gonococcal arthritis and wants to confirm this by sending joint fluid for bacterial culture. He uses the standard suprapatellar approach and passes a needle from the lateral aspect of the thigh into the region immediately proximal to the patella. Through which of the following muscles does the needle pass?

One week following a sexual encounter at a ski resort in Colorado, a young woman develops a painful ,swollen knee joint. The emergency department physician suspects gonococcal arthritis and wants to confirm this by sending joint fluid for bacterial culture. He uses the standard suprapatellar approach and passes a needle from the lateral aspect of the thigh into the region immediately proximal to the patella. Through which of the following muscles does the needle pass?

One week following a sexual encounter at a ski resort in Colorado, a young woman develops a painful ,swollen knee joint. The emergency department physician suspects gonococcal arthritis and wants to confirm this by sending joint fluid for bacterial culture. He uses the standard suprapatellar approach and passes a needle from the lateral aspect of the thigh into the region immediately proximal to the patella. Through which of the following muscles does the needle pass?


(A)Adductor magnus
(B)Gracilis
(C)Iliacus
(D)Sartorius
(E)Vastus lateralis

Answer: (E)Vastus lateralis