Medial circumflex femoral artery

The medial circumflex femoral artery (internal circumflex artery, medial femoral circumflex artery) is an artery in the upper thigh that helps supply blood to the neck of the femur.

Structure
The medial femoral circumflex artery arises from the medial and posterior aspect of the profunda femoris artery, and winds around the medial side of the femur, passing first between the pectineus and iliopsoas muscles, and then between the obturator externus and the adductor brevis muscles.

The medial femoral circumflex artery may occasionally arise directly from the femoral artery.

Branches
At the upper border of the adductor brevis it gives off two branches:


 * The ascending branch is distributed to the adductor muscles of the thigh, the gracilis muscle, and obturator externus muscle, and anastomoses with the obturator artery.


 * The descending branch descends beneath the adductor brevis, to supply it and the adductor magnus; the continuation of the vessel passes backward and divides into superficial, deep, and acetabular branches.
 * The superficial branch appears between the quadratus femoris and upper border of the adductor magnus, and anastomoses with the inferior gluteal artery, lateral femoral circumflex artery, and first of the perforating arteries of the profunda femoris (crucial anastomosis).
 * The deep branch runs obliquely upward upon the tendon of the obturator externus and in front of the quadratus femoris toward the trochanteric fossa, where it anastomoses with twigs from the superior gluteal artery and inferior gluteal artery.
 * The acetabular branch arises opposite the acetabular notch and enters the hip-joint beneath the transverse ligament in company with an articular branch from the obturator artery; it supplies the fat in the bottom of the acetabulum, and is continued along the ligament to the head of the femur.