Lateral circumflex femoral artery

Schematic representation of the arteries of the thigh

The lateral circumflex artery ("external artery encircling the thigh bone") is an artery of the lower extremity in the area of ​​the thigh .

The arteria circumflexa femoris lateralis in humans mostly arises from the arteria profunda femoris , occasionally also directly from the arteria femoralis . It passes under the sartorius muscle and the rectus femoris muscle and divides into three branches:

• The ramus ascendens ("ascending branch") runs cranially under the tensor fasciae latae muscle and anastomoses with a branch of the medial circumflex artery . It supplies the head and neck of the femur .
• The ramus descendens ("descending branch") runs under the muscle rectus femoris caudally and pierces the muscle vastus lateralis . In the knee area, it anastomoses with a branch of the popliteal artery .
• The ramus transversus (“transverse branch”) runs through the vastus lateralis muscle and anastomoses in the area of ​​the hip joint with branches of the circumflexa femoris medialis artery , the inferior glutaea artery and the perforans ramus I of the profunda femoris artery.

literature

• Richard L. Drake, Wayne Vogl, Adam WM Mitchell: Gray's Anatomy for Students. Elsevier, Urban & Fischer, Munich et al. 2007, ISBN 978-3-437-41231-8 , p. 548.