THE THIGH 255 



adductor canal is reached, where the saphenous nerve lies 

 along the medial face of the distal part of the artery. 



Posterior to the artery are the psoas, the pectineus, the 

 adductor longus and the adductor magnus muscles, but the 

 artery is separated from the psoas by the posterior part of 

 the femoral sheath and the nerve to the pectineus, and from 

 the pectineus by fatty areolar tissue in which lie the femoral 

 vein, which has passed from the medial to the posterior 

 aspect of the artery, the profunda vein and the profunda 

 artery, in that order from before backwards. It is separated 

 from the adductors longus and magnus by the femoral vein 

 alone, because the profunda vein and artery dip backwards 

 between the pectineus and the adductor longus and descend 

 behind the latter muscle. 



The branches which the artery gives off in the femoral 

 triangle have already been enumerated, and some of them 

 have been followed to their terminations, whilst others will 

 be traced in later dissections. The branches which arise in 

 the adductor canal are muscular twigs which supply adjacent 

 muscles and the arteria genu suprema. 



Arteria G-enu Suprema (O.T. Anastomotic). The arteria 

 genu suprema springs from the femoral trunk, a short distance 

 proximal to the point where the latter enters the popliteal 

 fossa by passing through the opening in the adductor magnus. 

 Almost immediately after its origin it divides into a saphenous 

 and a musculo-articular branch : frequently, the two branches 

 have separate origins from the femoral artery. 



The saphenous branch accompanies the saphenous nerve ; 

 it leaves the adductor canal by passing under cover of the 

 distal border of the fibrous expansion which is stretched 

 over the canal. On the medial side of the knee it appears 

 between the gracilis and sartorius, and it ends in branches 

 to the integument on the medial aspect of the proximal part 

 of the leg. 



The musculo-articular branch enters the substance of the 

 vastus medialis and proceeds distally, anterior to the tendon 

 of the adductor magnus. It gives some twigs to the vastus 

 medialis and others which spread out over the proximal and 

 medial aspects of the knee joint, and it anastomoses with 

 branches of the medial genicular arteries. One well-marked 

 branch runs laterally, proximal to the patella, to anastomose 

 with the lateral superior genicular artery. 



