434 FEMORAL ARTERY. 



directed outwards behind that band to the anterior superior iliac spine. 

 Following thence the crest of the hip- bone, the artery gives branches to the 

 iliacus muscle, furnishes others which are distributed to the abdominal 

 muscles, and anastomoses with the ilio-lumbar artery. In its course outwards 

 this artery lies in front of the trans versalis fascia, at the junction of this 

 with the fascia iliaca. 



Two veins accompany the circumflex iliac artery ; these unite below into 

 a single vessel, which crosses the external iliac artery about an inch above 

 Poupart's ligament, and enters the external iliac vein. 



The muscular branch is given off near the iliac crest, and ascends on the fore-part 

 of the abdomen between the transversalis and internal oblique muscles : having sup- 

 plied those muscles, it anastomoses with the lumbar and epigastric arteries. This 

 branch varies much in size, and is occasionally replaced by several smaller muscular 

 offsets. 



PECULIARITIES. Size. In those rare cases in which the principal blood-vessel of 

 the lower limb is continued from the internal iliac (p. 441), the external iliac artery 

 is correspondingly diminished, and ends in the muscles of the front of the thigh, 

 taking the place of the profunda. 



Branches. The usual number of two principal brandies of the external iliac artery 

 may be increased by the separation of the circumflex iliac into two branches, or by 

 the addition of a branch usually derived from another source, such as the internal 

 circumflex artery of the thigh or the obturator artery. 



The epigastric artery occasionally arises higher than usual, as at an inch and a 

 half, or even two inches and a half, above Poupart's ligament; and it has been seen 

 to arise below that ligament from the femoral or from the deep femoral artery. The 

 epigastric frequently furnishes the obturator artery ; and two examples are recorded 

 in which the epigastric artery arose from an obturator furnished by the internal iliac 

 artery. (Monro, " Morbid Anatomy of the Human Gullet," &c., p. 427, A. K. Hessel- 

 bach, "Die sicherste Art des Bruchschnittes," &c.) In a single instance the epigas- 

 tric artery was represented by two branches, one arising from the external iliac, and 

 the other from the internal iliac artery. (Lauth, in " Velpeau's Medecine Operatoire," 

 v. ii. p. 452.) Some combinations of the epigastric with the internal circumflex, or 

 with the circumflex iliac, or with both those vessels, have been noticed. 



The circumflex iliac artery sometimes deviates from its ordinary position, arising 

 at a distance not exceeding an inch above Poupart's ligament. Deviations in the 

 opposite direction are more rarely met with ; it has in a few cases been observed to 

 arise below the ligament, from the femoral artery. 



FEMORAL ARTERY. 



The femoral artery is that portion of the artery of the lower limb which 

 lies in the upper two-thirds of the thigh, its limits being marked above by 

 Poupart's ligament, and below by the opening in the great adductor muscle, 

 after passing through which the artery receives the name popliteal. 



A general indication of the direction of the femoral artery over the fore- 

 part and inner side of the thigh is given by a line reaching from a point 

 midway between the anterior superior iliac spine and the symphysis of the 

 pnbes to the inner side of the internal condyle of the femur. At the upper 

 part of the thigh, it lies along the middle of a depression between the 

 muscles covering the femur on the outer side, and the adductor muscles 

 on the inner side of the limb, which is known by the name of Scarpa's 

 triangle. In this situation the beating of the artery may be felt, and the 

 circulation through the vessel may be most easily controlled by pressure. 

 Below the upper third of the thigh it is crossed by the upper and inner 



