a a 
mediodistally and crossed the anterior surface of the femoral vein 
jnst above the point of entry of the great saphenous vein. On 
reaching the medial border of the vein, the profunda femoris artery 
turned laterally and crossed posterior to it. Subsequently it gained 
the posterior surface of the femoral artery from which it was separated 
by the profunda femoris vein. The rest of its course was normal. 
Tracing from a photograph to show 
the course of the arteria profunda fe- 







BS 
2 
G . 
Cy. moris. 
L; NF F C, ascending and transverse bran- 
XZ 
“T+ 
7 
ches of a. circumflexa lateralis; D, de- 
scending branch of a. circumflexa late- 
ralis; ZL, ligamentum inguinale; F, a. 
femoralis; S, a.profunda femoris; P, aa. 
D pudicae; V, vena femoralis. 
At the medial border of the femoral 
vein, the profunda femoris artery gave 
off the external pudic arteries and, 5 cm. 
distally, the medial circumflex. It next 
gave off a single branch to the adductor muscles and, as it lay under 
cover of the femoral vein, it gave off the ascending and transverse 
branches of the lateral circumflex by a common trunk. 
The descending branch of the lateral circumflex arose directly 
from the femoral artery. 
This relationship of the profunda femoris artery to the femoral 
vein is extremely rare and, so far as I have been able to discover, 
only eight cases have been recorded hitherto. In 1836, MERrcRIER (1) 
described a case in which the profunda femoris artery crossed anterior 
to the femoral vein below the opening of the great saphenous vein, 
and gave off the external pudic arteries. In 1843, CRUVEILHIER (2) 
described a similar case. In 1867, FrıepLowsky (3) described a 
specimen in which the profunda femoris artery crossed the femoral 
vein anteriorly above the opening of the great saphenous vein. In 
1894, Zamser (4) reviewed the literature up to that date and recorded 
two cases. In the first, the profunda femoris arose by a common 
trunk with the inferior and superficial epigastric arteries, and the 
lateral circumflex arose entirely from the femoral artery. In the 
second, the profunda femoris arose from the lateral side of the femoral 
artery and gave off the lateral circumflex. It then turned medially 

A 
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