The lateral circumflex femoral artery, also known as the lateral femoral circumflex artery, or the external circumflex artery, is an

artery An artery (plural arteries) () is a blood vessel in humans and most animals that takes blood away from the heart to one or more parts of the body (tissues, lungs, brain etc.). Most arteries carry oxygenated blood; the two exceptions are the pul ...

in the upper thigh. It is usually a branch of the profunda femoris artery, and produces three branches. It is mostly distributed to the muscles of the lateral thigh.

Structure

Origin

The lateral femoral circumflex artery usually arises from the lateral side of the profunda femoris artery, but may occasionally arise directly from the femoral artery. It is the largest branch of the profunda femoris artery.

Course and relations

The lateral circumflex femoral artery usually courses anterior to the femoral neck. It passes horizontally between the divisions of the femoral nerve. It passes posterior to the

sartorius muscle The sartorius muscle () is the longest muscle in the human body. It is a long, thin, superficial muscle that runs down the length of the thigh in the Anterior compartment of thigh, anterior compartment. Structure The sartorius muscle originates f ...

and

rectus femoris muscle The rectus femoris muscle is one of the four quadriceps muscles of the human body. The others are the vastus medialis, the vastus intermedius (deep to the rectus femoris), and the vastus lateralis. All four parts of the quadriceps muscle attach t ...

. It passes laterally across the hip joint capsule. It divides into ascending, transverse, and descending branches.

Branches

The lateral circumflex femoral artery has three branches: # The ascending branch of lateral circumflex femoral artery passes upward, beneath the tensor fasciae latae muscle, to the lateral aspect of the

hip In vertebrate anatomy, hip (or "coxa"Latin ''coxa'' was used by Celsus in the sense "hip", but by Pliny the Elder in the sense "hip bone" (Diab, p 77) in medical terminology) refers to either an anatomical region or a joint. The hip region is ...

, and anastomoses with the terminal branches of the superior gluteal and

deep circumflex iliac artery The deep circumflex iliac artery (or deep iliac circumflex artery) is an artery in the pelvis that travels along the iliac crest of the pelvic bone. Course The deep circumflex iliac artery arises from the lateral aspect of the external iliac arte ...

. # The descending branch of lateral circumflex femoral artery 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 of lateral circumflex femoral artery is a small

in the

thigh In human anatomy, the thigh is the area between the hip (pelvis) and the knee. Anatomically, it is part of the lower limb. The single bone in the thigh is called the femur. This bone is very thick and strong (due to the high proportion of bone ...

. It is the smallest branch of the lateral circumflex femoral artery and passes lateralward over the

vastus intermedius The vastus intermedius () (Cruraeus) arises from the front and lateral surfaces of the body of the femur in its upper two-thirds, sitting under the rectus femoris muscle and from the lower part of the lateral intermuscular septum. Its fibers en ...

, pierces the vastus lateralis, and winds around the

femur The femur (; ), or thigh bone, is the proximal bone of the hindlimb in tetrapod vertebrates. The head of the femur articulates with the acetabulum in the pelvic bone forming the hip joint, while the distal part of the femur articulates with ...

, 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.

Distribution

The lateral circumflex femoral artery mainly supplies muscles of the lateral thigh. Due to the fact that it passes across the thickest part of the hip joint capsule, it is in a less suitable position to supply the proximal femur so that most of the arterial supply to the

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may ...

and neck of the femur is instead afforded by the medial circumflex femoral artery.

Variation

Origin The lateral femoral circumflex artery has a variable origin. In 67% of people, it arises 1.5 cm inferior to the origin of the profunda femoris artery, and in others it arises at different distances from this origin. In up to 20% of people, it arises directly from the femoral artery. Course A rare variant, where the lateral circumflex femoral artery passes posterior to the femoral nerve, has also been reported (this is important in orthopaedic surgery).

Additional images

File:Gray550.png, The femoral artery. File:Thigh arteries schema.svg, Labeled arteries of the thigh. File:Thigh arteries schema numbered.svg, Arteries of the thigh labeled with numbers. The lateral circumflex femoral is labeled as #5. File:Slide10LLLL.JPG, Lateral circumflex femoral artery

References

External links

* * - "Arteries of the lower extremity shown in association with major landmarks." * {{Authority control Arteries of the lower limb