THE FEMORAL ARTERY. 



829 



{aa) The first or superior perforating artery (a. perforans prima) is generally the largest of 

 the three, and arises just as the profunda passes behind the adductor longus. It either passes 

 through the adductor brevis or between that muscle and the pectineus and pierces the adductor 



Fig. 733- 



Superficial circumflex iliac 

 Iliacus muscle 



Femoral artery 



Tendon of rectus 



Tensor vaginae femoris 



Ascending branch of 



external circumflex 



Profunda femoris 



External circumflex 



Transverse branches of 



external circumflex 



Descending branch of 



external circumflex 



Vastus externus 



First perforating artery 



Adductor brevis 

 Second perforating artery 



Vastus internus 

 Third perforating artery 



Adductor longus 



Fourth perforating arterj- 



Deep branch of 



anastomotica magna 



Adductor magnus 

 Gracilis 



Superficial epigastric artery 



Psoas muscle 

 Pectineus 



Spermatic cord 



Obturator artery 

 Adductor longus 

 Adductor brevis 

 Corpus spongiosum of penis 



Obturator externus 



Internal circumflex artery 



Articular branch of 



internal circumflex 



Adductor magnus 



Femoral arterj* 



Semimembranosus 



Superficial branch of 



anastomotica magna 



Deep femoral artery and its branches. 



magnus, and then divides into an ascending and a descending branch, the latter of which anasto- 

 moses with the ascending branch of the second perforating, while the former assists in the for- 

 mation of the crucial anastomosis. 



