In House M.D., which muscle suffered the infarction that caused Gregory House’s leg damage?

In House M.D., Gregory House’s right quadriceps muscle suffered an infarction, causing the leg damage that left him with chronic pain and a limp. The infarction occurred before the series begins.

House initially misdiagnosed the problem and later underwent surgery to remove dead muscle. The damage explains his reliance on a cane and his use of Vicodin for pain. The medical history is central to his character because it affects both his physical movement and his emotional behavior.

The detail is often simplified to “a leg injury,” but the show identifies the affected area more specifically as the right quadriceps. That distinction makes the right quadriceps muscle the precise answer rather than a general term such as thigh or leg.