The sartorius is a long, obliquely oriented muscle which lies superficially within the anterior compartment of the thigh, extending from the anterior superior iliac spine to the medial aspect of the proximal tibial shaft, together with the gracilis and the semitendinosus muscles. This joint tendinous insertion is known as the pes anserinus.

The other muscles in the anterior compartment of the thigh are the quadriceps and the distal ends of the iliacus and psoas major.

The quadriceps muscles are made up of the rectus femoris, vastus medialis, vastus lateralis, and vastus intermedius. The other muscle in the anterior compartment is the sartorius, and within the upper part of the anterior compartment are the distal ends of the ilacus and psoas major muscles.