Femoral artery

Arteria femoralis

Definition

The femoral artery  begins immediately behind the inguinal ligament, midway between the anterior superior spine of the ilium and the symphysis pubis, and passes down the front and medial side of the thigh. It ends at the junction of the middle with the lower third of the thigh, where it passes through an opening in the Adductor magnus to become the popliteal artery.

The vessel, at the upper part of the thigh, lies in front of the hip-joint; in the lower part of its course it lies to the medial side of the body of the femur, and between these two parts, where it crosses the angle between the head and body, the vessel is some distance from the bone.

The first 4 cm. of the vessel is enclosed, together with the femoral vein, in a fibrous sheath—the femoral sheath. In the upper third of the thigh the femoral artery is contained in the femoral triangle (Scarpa’s triangle), and in the middle third of the thigh, in the adductor canal (Hunter’s canal).


Comparative anatomy in animals

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