Quick Facts
Origin: Continuation of external iliac artery.
Course: Travels in femoral sheath, through the adductor canal in the thigh.
Branches: Superficial epigastric, superficial circumflex iliac, superficial external pudendal, deep external pudendal, deep femoral, and descending genicular arteries.
Supplied Structures: Lower abdominal wall, external genitalia, and lower limb.
Related parts of the anatomy
Origin
The femoral artery is considered a continuation of the external iliac artery, beginning behind the inguinal ligament, at the mid-point between the anterior superior iliac spine and pubic symphysis.
Course
The femoral artery descends in the anteromedial part of the thigh in the femoral triangle. It is contained within the femoral sheath, along with the femoral vein for the first 3–4 cm of its course. It passes through the adductor canal and continues on as the popliteal artery as it passes through an opening in the adductor magnus muscle.
Branches
The main branches of the femoral artery include the superficial epigastric, superficial circumflex iliac, superficial external pudendal, deep external pudendal, deep femoral, and descending genicular arteries. The largest branch is the deep femoral artery.
The femoral artery, proximal to the origin of the deep femoral artery, is referred to as the common femoral artery, while distal to the origin of the deep femoral artery is referred to as the superficial femoral artery.
Supplied Structures
The femoral artery supplies branches to the lower abdominal wall (superficial epigastric and superficial circumflex iliac arteries), external genitalia (external pudendal and deep external pudendal arteries), and the lower limb (deep femoral, descending genicular, and popliteal arteries).
Learn more about this topic from other Elsevier products
Femoral Artery
It is an invasive test in which a femoral artery (or in some cases, a suitable substitute such as one of the brachial arteries) is cannulated with a catheter through which iodinated contrast material is injected directly into the arteries of the neck and head.
