The perforating cutaneous nerve is a cutaneous nerve

Cutaneous nerve

A cutaneous nerve is a nerve that innervates the skin.-Human anatomy:In human anatomy, cutaneous nerves are responsible for providing sensory innervation to the skin. They are generally thought of as sensory-only nerves, but they may provide motor innervation to structures in the skin, e.g...

 that supplies skin over the gluteus maximus muscle.

Structure

The perforating cutaneous nerve arises from the sacral plexus

Sacral plexus

-External links:*...

. It pierces the lower part of the sacrotuberous ligament

Sacrotuberous ligament

The sacrotuberous ligament is situated at the lower and back part of the pelvis. It is flat, and triangular in form; narrower in the middle than at the ends....

, and winds around the inferior border of the gluteus maximus. It is an inferior clunial (buttocks) nerve; it supplies the skin covering the medial and lower parts of gluteus maximus.

The perforating cutaneous nerve may arise from the pudendal nerve

Pudendal nerve

The pudendal nerve is a sensory and somatic nerve in the pelvic region which is a large branch of the sacral plexus that innervates the external genitalia of both sexes, as well as sphincters for the bladder and the rectum...

. It is absent in approximately one third of people; its place may be taken by a branch from the posterior cutaneous nerve of thigh

Posterior cutaneous nerve of thigh

The posterior cutaneous nerve of the thigh provides innervation to the skin of the posterior surface of the thigh and leg, as well as to the skin of the perineum.-Structure:...

or by a branch from the third and fourth, or fourth and fifth, sacral nerves.