The vascular lacuna (Latin: ''lacuna vasorum'') is the compartment beneath the
inguinal ligament
The inguinal ligament (), also known as Poupart's ligament or groin ligament, is a band running from the pubic tubercle to the anterior superior iliac spine. It forms the base of the inguinal canal through which an indirect inguinal hernia may de ...
which allows for passage of the
femoral vessels, lymph vessels and
lymph nodes. Its boundaries are the
iliopectineal arch, the inguinal ligament, the
lacunar ligament
The lacunar ligament, also named Gimbernat’s ligament, is a ligament in the inguinal region. It connects the inguinal ligament to the pectineal ligament, near the point where they both insert on the pubic tubercle.
Structure
The lacunar ligame ...
, and the superior border of the pubis. The structures found in the vascular lacuna, from medial to lateral, are:
*
Cloquet's node;
*
Femoral vein
In the human body, the femoral vein is a blood vessel that accompanies the femoral artery in the femoral sheath. It begins at the adductor hiatus (an opening in the adductor magnus muscle) as the continuation of the popliteal vein. It ends at ...
;
*
Femoral artery
The femoral artery is a large artery in the thigh and the main arterial supply to the thigh and leg. The femoral artery gives off the deep femoral artery or profunda femoris artery and descends along the anteromedial part of the thigh in the fe ...
; and
* Femoral branch of the
genitofemoral nerve
The vascular lacuna is separated from the
muscular lacuna by the iliopectineal arch. The lacunar ligament can be a site of entrapment for femoral hernias.
[Ross, L.M., Lamperti, E.D. (2006). Thieme: Atlas of Anatomy: 489]
References
Muscular system
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