330 Anatomy Applied to Medicine and Swgery. 



supply to the hamstring muscles which are governed by 

 the first, second and third sacral nerves through the great 

 sciatic. Since these muscles extend the thigh, we would 

 expect to find other muscles with similar actions having 

 the same nerve supply, and this we do, in the case of the 

 gluteus maximus and the adductor magnus, since the 

 gluteus maximus, which extends the hip, is supplied by 

 branches from the first and second sacral nerves, and the 

 lower part of the adductor magnus by branches from the 

 great sciatic. This similar nerve supply to muscles with 

 similar actions is emphasized in the case of the adductor 

 magnus muscle, for, while its upper fibres which adduct 

 the limb are supplied, as mentioned above, from the third 

 and fourth lumbar nerves through the obturator, its lower 

 fibres, which extend the limb, are, like the other extensors, 

 supplied by branches from the great sciatic. 



Bloodvessels. The femoral artery, the continua- 

 tion of the external iliac, terminates below, where it 

 passes through a tendinous opening in the adductor mag- 

 nus muscle to become the popliteal. The femoral artery 

 lies in front of the head of the femur, above, but at some 

 distance from it, lower down, while, below, owing to the 

 obliquity of the shaft of the bone, which is directed in- 

 wards towards the middle line, the artery lies close to the 

 inner side of the bone. It is divided into common, super- 

 ficial and deep femorals. The common femoral begins, 

 above, immediately beneath Poupart's ligament, and ends 

 where the other two begin, generally about one and a half 

 inches below Poupart's ligament. Relations. It lies in 

 Scarpa's triangle, having the integument, the superficial 

 and deep fascise, transversalis fascia, the crural branch of 

 the genito-crural nerve, and the superficial circumflex 

 iliac vein, in front ; behind, it rests on the psoas tendon, 

 which separates it from the brim of the pelvis and the cap- 



