166 



DISSECTION OF THE THIGH. 



Branches to 

 muscles of 

 the thigh ' 

 join freely. 



External 

 circumflex. 

 Internal 

 circumflex 



ends on 

 back of 

 thigh ; 



supplies hip- 

 joint and 

 muscles. 



Three per- 

 forating 

 branches : 



first; 

 second ; 

 third 



and the 

 ending is a 

 fourth. 



Anasto- 



motic 



branches. 



Profunda 

 vein. 



Cut through 



adductor 



brevis. 



Its BRANCHES are numerous to the surrounding muscles on the 

 front and back of the thigh, and maintain free anastomoses with 

 other vessels of the thigh ; through these communications the blood 

 finds its way to the lower part of the limb when the chief artery- 

 is obliterated either above or below the origin of the profunda. 

 The named branches are these : 



1. The external circumflex artery (fig. 62, e) has been described in 

 the dissection of the parts on the front of the thigh (p. 159). 



2. The internal circumflex artery (fig. 62, d) arises from the inner 

 and posterior part of the profunda, and turns backwards between 

 the psoas and pectineus, but above the adductor brevis. Opposite 

 the small trochanter it ends in ascending and transverse branches, 

 which have been seen in the dissection of the buttock (p. 123). It 

 also supplies offsets on the inner side of the thigh, viz. : 



An articular artery which enters the hip-joint through the notch 

 in the acetabulum ; and two muscular branches at the border of the 

 adductor brevis ; one ascends to the obturator and the superficial 

 adductor muscles : the other, which is larger, descends with the 

 deep division of the obturator nerve beneath the adductor brevis, 

 and ends in this and the largest adductor. 



3. The perforating arteries, three in number, pierce the ten- 

 dons of some of the adductor muscles close to the linea aspera 

 of the femur : they supply muscles on the back of the thigh, 

 and wind round the bone to end in the vastus externus and crureus 

 (p. 133). 



The first (fig. 62, /) begins opposite the lower border of the 

 pectineus, and perforates the short and great adductors. 



The second (g) arises below the middle of the adductor brevis, 

 and passes through the same muscles as the preceding. 



The third (li) springs from the deep femoral trunk below the 

 adductor brevis, and is transmitted through the adductor magnus. 

 From the second or third perforating vessel a medullary artery is 

 supplied to the femur. 



The terminal branch of the profunda (fourth perforating) pierces 

 the adductor magnus near the aperture for the femoral artery. 



4. Muscular or anastomotic branches (i) to the back of the thigh 

 (three or four in number) pass through the adductor magnus at 

 some distance from the linea aspera, and end in a chain of anasto- 

 moses in the hamstrings (p. 134). 



The PROFUNDA VEIN results from the union of the different 

 branches corresponding with the offsets of its companion artery. It 

 accompanies closely the artery of the same name, to which it is 

 superficial, and ends above in the common femoral vein. 



Dissection. To bring into view the remaining muscles, viz., 

 adductor magnus, obturator externus, and the insertion of the psoas 

 and iliacus, the adductor brevis is to be cut through near the pelvis, 

 and thrown down. Then the investing layer of fascia and areolar 

 tissue is to be removed from each muscle. 



After the adductor magnus has been learnt, detach a few of its 

 upper fibres to examine the obturator externus. 



