Lateral circumflex femoral artery
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| Artery: Lateral circumflex femoral artery | |
|---|---|
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| The profunda femoris artery, femoral artery and their major branches - right thigh, anterior view. (External circumflex labeled at upper left.) | |
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| Circumpatellar anastomosis. (Descending branch of lateral femoral circumflex visible at upper left.) | |
| Latin | arteria circumflexa femoris lateralis |
| Gray's | subject #157 630 |
| Source | deep femoral artery |
| Dorlands / Elsevier | a_61/12153889 |
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The lateral circumflex femoral artery (lateral femoral circumflex artery, external circumflex artery) is an artery in the upper thigh.
Structure
The lateral femoral circumflex artery arises from the lateral side of the profunda femoris artery, passes horizontally between the divisions of the femoral nerve, and behind the sartorius and rectus femoris, and divides into ascending, transverse, and descending branches. The lateral femoral circumflex artery may occasionally arise directly from the femoral artery.
Branches
The ascending branch passes upward, beneath the tensor fasciae latae muscle, to the lateral aspect of the hip, and anastomoses with the terminal branches of the superior gluteal artery and deep circumflex iliac artery.
The descending branch runs downward, behind the rectus femoris, upon the vastus lateralis, to which it gives offsets; one long branch descends in the muscle as far as the knee, and anastomoses with the superior lateral genicular artery. It is accompanied by the branch of the femoral nerve to the vastus lateralis muscle.
The transverse branch, the smallest, passes lateralward over the vastus intermedius, pierces the vastus lateralis, and winds around the femur, just below the greater trochanter, anastomosing on the back of the thigh with the medial femoral circumflex artery, the inferior gluteal artery, and the perforating arteries of the profunda femoris artery.
See also
Additional images
 The femoral artery. |
External links
- Duke Orthopedics lateral_circumflex_femoral_artery
- lateral+circumflex+femoral+artery at eMedicine Dictionary
- SUNY Figs 12:04-01 - "Arteries of the lower extremity shown in association with major landmarks."
- Cross section at UV pelvis/pelvis-e12-15
This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.
List of arteries of lower limbs | |
|---|---|
| EI: Femoral | superficial epigastric - superficial iliac circumflex
external pudendal: superficial - deep (anterior scrotal) profunda femoris: lateral circumflex femoral (descending, transverse, ascending) - medial circumflex femoral (ascending, superficial, deep, acetabular) - perforating descending genicular (saphenous branch, articular branches) |
| Popliteal | sural genicular: superior genicular (medial, lateral) - middle genicular - inferior genicular (medial, lateral) |
| Anterior tibial | tibial recurrent (posterior, anterior)
anterior malleolar (medial, lateral) dorsalis pedis: tarsal (medial, lateral) |
| Posterior tibial | circumflex fibular - fibular medial plantar - lateral plantar |
| Arches | arcuate: dorsal metatarsal/first dorsal metatarsal - deep plantar - dorsal digital arteries plantar arch: plantar metatarsal - common plantar digital - proper plantar digital |
Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
