Corpus: Deep femoral artery

The deep femoral artery is a branch of the femoral artery that runs deeper in the tissue of the thigh than its parent vessel.

The deep femoral artery leaves the femoral artery about 3 to 6 cm distal to the inguinal ligament. It runs caudally near the femur between the pectineus muscle and the adductor longus muscle.

• Medial circumflex femoral artery: runs dorsally between the iliopsoas and pectineus muscles and follows the edge of the external obturator muscle to the trochanteric fossa, where it anastomoses with the lateral circumflex femoral artery.
  • Ascending branch: branches out on the anterior surface of the adductors
  • Deep branch: reaches the quadratus femoris muscle, the joint capsule, the adductor magnus muscle and the flexors
  • Acetabular branch: runs through the incisura acetabuli to the hip joint
• Lateral circumflex femoral artery: runs laterally between the rectus femoris muscle and the upper parts of the vastus muscles
  • Ascending branch: penetrates under the tensor fasciae latae muscle to the gluteal muscles and the hip joint capsule; anastomoses with the medial circumflex femoral artery and the gluteal arteries
  • Transverse branch: runs laterally
  • Descending branch: branches under the rectus femoris muscle into the extensor muscles up to the knee joint
• Perforating arteries: usually three branches that pierce the base of the adductor muscles dorsally
• Primary perforating artery: runs dorsally from the lower edge of the pectineus muscle through the insertions of the adductor brevis and magnus muscles and gives off a nutritional femoral artery for the proximal femur bone
• Secondary perforating artery: runs through the insertion of the adductor brevis and magnus muscles
• Tertiary perforating artery: terminal branch of the deep femoral artery; breaks through the adductor magnus muscle approx. 3 cm above the adductor hiatus and gives off a nutritional femoral artery for the distal femur.

The two circumflex femoral arteries also arise directly from the femoral artery in 20 % of cases.

The deep femoral artery supplies the hip joint and the entire thigh musculature, the remaining femoral artery has no supply function up to the transition into the popliteal artery.