488 



THE ARTERIES OF THE LOWER LIMB. 



outwards, while the artery holds a straight course, it is separated from the bone by 

 a considerable interval. 



Relation to veins. The femoral vein is very close to the artery, both being en- 

 closed in the same sheath, and separated from each other only by a thin partition of 

 fibrous membrane. At the groin, the vein lies on the same plane as the artery, and 

 to its inner side ; but gradually inclining backwards, the vein is placed behind the 

 artery at the lower part of Scarpa's space, and afterwards gets somewhat to the outer 



Fig. 389. THE FEMORAL ARTERY AND ITS BRANCHES. 

 (R. Quain.) 



The sartorius muscle has been removed in part, so 

 as to expose the artery in the middle third of the thigh ; 

 a, anterior superior iliac spine ; b, aponeurosis of ex- 

 ternal oblique muscle near the external abdominal ring ; 

 c, rectus femoris ; d, adductor longus ; e, lower part of 

 the aponeurosis covering the artery ; 1, 1, femoral 

 artery ; 1' femoral vein, divided and tied close below 

 Poupart's ligament ; 2, 2, 2, deep femoral artery ; 

 3, anterior crural nerve, the figure lies between two 

 superficial epigastric branches of the artery ; 3', super- 

 ficial circumflex iliac artery ; 4, 5, external pudic ar- 

 teries, the deeper arising in this case from the internal 

 circumflex ; 6, external circumflex artery, with its as- 

 cending, transverse and descending branches separating 

 from it ; 6', branch to the rectus muscle ; 7, branch to 

 the vastus internus muscle ; 8 and 9, some of the 

 muscular branches of the femoral ; +, origin of the 

 second perforating artery. 



side. The deep femoral vein, near its termina- 

 tion, crosses behind the femoral artery ; and 

 the internal saphenous vein, as it ascends on 

 the fore part of the limb, lies to the inner 

 side ; but it not unfrequently happens that a 

 superficial vein of considerable size ascends 

 for some distance directly over the artery. 



Relation to nerves. At the groin, the 

 anterior crural nerve lies a little to the outer 

 side of the femoral artery (about a quarter of 

 an inch), being separated from the vessel by 

 some fibres of the psoas muscle and by the 

 iliac fascia. Lower down in the thigh, the 

 internal saphenous nerve accompanies the 

 artery in Hunter's canal, lying along its 

 anterior surface, until the vessel perforates 

 the adductor magnus. The internal cutaneous 

 nerve also crosses the upper part of the artery at the inner border of the sartorius. 



BRANCHES. The femoral artery gives off the following branches : some small 

 and superficial, which are distributed to the integument and glands of the groin and 

 ramify on the lower part of the abdomen, viz., the external pudic (superior and in- 

 ferior), the superficial epigastric, and the superficial circumflex iliac ; the great 

 nutrient artery of the muscles of the thigh, named the deep femoral or profunda ; 

 several muscular branches ; and lastly, the anastomotic artery, which descends to the 

 inner side of the knee. 



1 and 2. The external pudic arteries arise either separately or by a common 

 trunk from the inner side of the femoral artery. The superior, the more superficial 

 branch, perforates the cribriform fascia in the saphenous opening, and courses up- 



