The infarction that caused Gregory House’s limp affected his right thigh.
Before the main events of House M.D., House suffered an infarction in the quadriceps muscle of his right thigh. The injury was initially misdiagnosed, and the resulting muscle damage left him with chronic pain and a permanent limp. He subsequently used a cane and relied on Vicodin to manage the pain.
The backstory explains several central aspects of House’s character: his physical disability, his distrust of other doctors, and his dependence on narcotic pain medication. The injury is not simply an incidental visual trait; it drives major medical, ethical, and personal storylines throughout the series.
Viewers sometimes remember only that House injured his leg, but the specific location is the right quadriceps, or right thigh. The infarction was not primarily a shoulder or lower-leg injury, and the distinction matters because the damaged muscle explains his characteristic gait.