The human leg is the entire lower limb of the human body, including the foot, thigh or sometimes even the hip or buttock region. The major bones of the leg are the femur, tibia, and adjacent fibula. The thigh is between the hip and knee, while the calf (rear) and shin (front) are between the knee and foot.
The brachial artery is the major blood vessel of the (upper) arm. It is the continuation of the axillary artery beyond the lower margin of teres major muscle. It continues down the ventral surface of the arm until it reaches the cubital fossa at the elbow. It then divides into the radial and ulnar arteries which run down the forearm. In some individuals, the bifurcation occurs much earlier and the ulnar and radial arteries extend through the upper arm. The pulse of the brachial artery is palpable on the anterior aspect of the elbow, medial to the tendon of the biceps, and, with the use of a stethoscope and sphygmomanometer, often used to measure the blood pressure.
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 and descends along the anteromedial part of the thigh in the femoral triangle. It enters and passes through the adductor canal, and becomes the popliteal artery as it passes through the adductor hiatus in the adductor magnus near the junction of the middle and distal thirds of the thigh.
The popliteal artery is a deeply placed continuation of the femoral artery opening in the distal portion of the adductor magnus muscle. It courses through the popliteal fossa and ends at the lower border of the popliteus muscle, where it branches into the anterior and posterior tibial arteries.
The tibial nerve is a branch of the sciatic nerve. The tibial nerve passes through the popliteal fossa to pass below the arch of soleus.
The adductor magnus is a large triangular muscle, situated on the medial side of the thigh.
The common fibular nerve is a nerve in the lower leg that provides sensation over the posterolateral part of the leg and the knee joint. It divides at the knee into two terminal branches: the superficial fibular nerve and deep fibular nerve, which innervate the muscles of the lateral and anterior compartments of the leg respectively. When the common fibular nerve is damaged or compressed, foot drop can ensue.
The superior genicular arteries, two in number, arise one on either side of the popliteal artery, and wind around the femur immediately above its condyles to the front of the knee-joint. The medial superior genicular artery is on the inside of the knee and the lateral superior genicular artery is on the outside.
The lateral superior genicular artery is a branch of the popliteal artery that supplies a portion of the knee joint.
The medial superior genicular artery is a branch of the popliteal artery. It runs deep to the semimembranosus, semitendinosus, and tendon of the adductor magnus, and superior to the medial head of the gastrocnemius.
The inferior genicular arteries, two in number, arise from the popliteal beneath the gastrocnemius. On the inside of the knee, is the medial inferior genicular artery, and on the outer side is the lateral inferior genicular artery.
The medial inferior genicular is an artery of the leg.
The lateral circumflex femoral artery is an artery 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, supplying arterial blood to muscles of the knee extensor group.
The cruciate anastomosis is a circulatory anastomosis in the upper thigh formed by the inferior gluteal artery, the lateral and medial circumflex femoral arteries, the first perforating artery of the deep femoral artery, and the anastomotic branch of the posterior branch of the obturator artery.
The femoral sheath is a funnel-shaped downward extension of abdominal fascia within which the femoral artery and femoral vein pass between the abdomen and the thigh. The femoral sheath is subdivided by two vertical partitions to form three compartments ; the medial compartment is known as the femoral canal and contains lymphatic vessels and a lymph node, whereas the intermediate canal and the lateral canal accommodate the femoral vein and the femoral artery (respectively). Some neurovascular structures perforate the femoral sheath. Topographically, the femoral sheath is contained within in the femoral triangle.
In anatomy, arterial tree is used to refer to all arteries and/or the branching pattern of the arteries. This article regards the human arterial tree. Starting from the aorta:
The descending genicular artery arises from the femoral artery just before its passage through the adductor hiatus.
In human anatomy, the adductor hiatus also known as hiatus magnus is a hiatus (gap) between the adductor magnus muscle and the femur that allows the passage of the femoral vessels from the anterior thigh to the posterior thigh and then the popliteal fossa. It is the termination of the adductor canal and lies about 8–13.5 cm. superior to the adductor tubercle.
The patellar network is an intricate network of blood vessels around and above the patella, and on the contiguous ends of the femur and tibia, forming a superficial and a deep plexus.
The cutaneous branch of the obturator nerve is an occasional continuation of the communicating branch to the femoral medial cutaneous branches and saphenous branches of the femoral to the thigh and leg. When present it emerges from beneath the distal/inferior border of the adductor longus muscle and descends along the posterior margin of the sartorius muscle to the medial side of the knee where it pierces the deep fascia and communicates with the saphenous nerve. When present, it provides sensory innervation to the skin of proximal/superior half of the medial side of the leg.
