THE FEMORAL ARTERY. 



631 



Scrotum, 



the femoral vessels to the Adductor longus and magnus muscles, lying on which 

 apoueurosis is the Sartorius muscle. It contains the femoral artery and vein 

 enclosed in their own sheath of areolar tissue, the vein being behind and on the 

 outer side of the artery, and the internal or long saphenous nerve lying on the 

 outer side of the vessels. 



Fur convenience of description, and also in reference to its surgical anatomy, 

 the femoral artery is divided into 

 a short trunk, about an inch and 

 a half or two inches long, which 

 is known as the t.-ommon femoral 

 //. and the remainder of the 

 vessel, which is known as the 

 ntpcrficial femorcU, to distinguish 

 it from the deep femoral (pro- 

 funda femoris). which is a large 

 branch given off from the com- 

 mon femoral at its termination, 

 and which by its derivation from 

 the parent trunk marks the com- 

 mencement of the superficial fem- 

 oral artery. 



The common femoral artery is 

 very superficial, being covered 

 by the skin and superficial 

 fascia, superficial inguinal lym- 

 phatic glands, the iliac portion 

 of the fascia lata, and the prolon- 

 gation downward of the Trans- 

 versalis fascia, which forms the 

 sheath of the vessels. It has in 

 front of it filaments from the 

 crural branch of the genito- 

 crural nerve, the superficial cir- 

 cumflex iliac vein, and occa- 

 sionally the superficial epigastric 

 vein. It rests on the inner mar- 

 gin of the Psoas muscle, which 

 separates it from the capsular 

 ligament of the hip-joint, and a 

 little lower on the Pectineus 

 muscle : and crossing behind it 

 is the branch to the Pectineus 

 from the anterior crural nerve. 

 Separating the artery from the 



is and Pectineus muscles is 

 the pubic portion of the fascia 

 lata and the prolongation from 

 the fascia covering the Iliacus 

 muscle, which forms the poste- 

 rior layer of the sheath of the 

 Is. The anterior crural 

 nerve lies about half an inch to 

 the outer side of the common 

 femoral artery, lying between the Psoas and Iliacus muscles. To the inner side 

 of the artery is the femoral vein, between the margins of the Pectineus and Psoas 

 muscles. The two vessels are enclosed in a strong fibrous sheath formed by the 

 proper sheath of the vessels strengthened by the fascia lata (see page 507) ; the 



Long saphenous 

 nerve. 



Superior external 

 articular. 



Inferior internal 

 articular. 



Anterior tibial 

 recurrent. 



AiuuUmotica 



magna. 



? Superior internal 

 articular. 



Inferior internal 

 articular. 



FIG. 376. Surgical anatomy of the femora! artery. 



