478 A MANUAL OF ANATOMY 



femoral and deep femoral at a point from i^ inches to 2 inches below 

 Poupart's ligament. For convenience of description, the femoral 

 artery (meaning thereby the whole of the leading artery of the 

 thigh) is divided into two parts — first and second — the first part 

 lying in Scarpa's triangle, and the second part occupying Hunter's 

 canal. 



First Part. — The first part of the femoral artery extends from the 

 lower border of Poupart's ligament to the apex of Scarpa's triangle, 

 within which triangle it lies. 



Relations — Superficial or Anterior. — ^The skin; superficial fascia 

 in two layers; fascia lata; anterior wall of the femoral sheath for 

 the first I J inches, and subsequently the anterior wall of the special 

 sheath; internal cutaneous nerve crossing the vessel from without 

 inwards, either as one nerve or in its two divisions, just above the 

 apex of Scarpa's triangle and outside the special sheath; two or 

 three cutaneous branches of the internal cutaneous nerve on their 

 way to the inner side of the thigh ; superficial circumflex iliac vein 

 near Poupart's ligament ; and external cutaneous femoral or anterior 

 saphenous vein just above the apex of Scarpa's triangle. 



Deep or Posterior. — ^The posterior wall of the femoral sheath for 

 the first i-| inches, and subsequently the femoral vein; branch of 

 the anterior femoral nerve passing inwards to the pectineus muscle, 

 and lying close behind the femoral sheath ; psoas magnus in the upper 

 part and pectineus in the lower part, the artery being separated 

 from the latter muscle by the femoral vein and profunda femoris 

 vessels, the femoral vein being nearest to the artery. 



External. — ^The femoral branch of the genito-femoral nerve for a 

 short distance below Poupart's ligament, where the nerve is within 

 the crural sheath; anterior femoral nerve for about | inch below 

 Poupart's ligament, and separated from the artery by an interval 

 of about ^ inch ; long saphenous nerve and nerve to the vastus 

 internus muscle, the former being nearest to the artery, and both 

 being outside the special sheath ; and the arteria profunda femoris 

 for about ^ inch at its commencement. 



Internal. — For about 2 inches below Poupart's ligament the 

 femoral vein lies to the inner side of the artery, with the intervention 

 of the external septum of the femoral sheath. Thereafter the vein 

 gradually leaves the inner side of the artery to take up its position 

 behind it, towards the apex of Scarpa's triangle. 



The femoral artery immediately below Poupart's ligament is 

 anterior to the inner part of the head of the femur, but in the 

 rest of its course the vessel is situated on the inner side of that 

 bone. 



Second Part. — The second part of the artery (superficial femoral) 

 extends from the apex of Scarpa's triangle to the posterior margin 

 of the femoral opening in connection with the adductor magnus, 

 where it becomes the popliteal. In this part of its course the I 

 superficial femoral lies in Hunter's canal, and passes over the 

 adductor longus, whilst the deep femoral is behind that muscle. 



