Though it is also called the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve, the name lateral cutaneous nerve of the thigh has become preferred, given the nerve is not a branch of the femoral nerve, but rather a nerve originating in the lumbar plexus. From the posterior division of the L2 and L3 nerve roots, the lateral cutaneous nerve of the thigh travels inferolaterally, just under the iliolumbar ligament and lateral to the psoas major muscle, then courses through the iliac fossa lying on the anterior surface of the iliacus muscles, ultimately passing deep to the inguinal ligament and just medial to the anterior superior iliac spine.