(3.14)

Now we'll remove all the veins from the picture so that we can look at the arteries. We'll look first at the internal and external iliac arteries. Then we'll look at the femoral and deep femoral arteries which supply almost all of the lower extremity; then we'll look at the gluteal arteries which supply the gluteal or buttock area.

Here's the abdominal aorta, dividing to give off the left and right common iliac arteries. The common iliac divides, into the internal iliac and external iliac arteries. The external iliac passes under the inguinal ligament, emerging as the femoral artery.

The femoral artery gives off two small branches and one large branch. The small branches are the superficial circumflex iliac, which runs laterally, and the external pudendal, which runs medially. The large branch is the deep femoral artery, which we'll look at in a minute. The femoral artery itself runs downward, and passes beneath the sartorius muscle. We'll follow its further course in the next section of this tape.

Below the point where it gives off the deep femoral, the femoral artery is often referred to as the superficial femoral. It supplies everything from about here downward, but the main artery that supplies the thigh is the deep femoral.

To follow the deep femoral artery, we'll remove the femoral artery. We'll also remove the sartorius muscle and the femoral nerve.

Early in its course, the deep femoral gives off two large branches, the medial circumflex femoral, and the lateral circumflex femoral. It then passes behind adductor longus, which we'll remove.

Here's pectineus, adductor brevis, adductor magnus, rectus femoris. The deep femoral artery runs down in front of adductor brevis and adductor magnus, giving off numerous muscle branches, including several which run backward through adductor magnus to supply the posterior thigh muscles.

Now we'll go up to the internal iliac artery again, to look at the gluteal vessels, which provide the blood supply for the buttock.

The left side of the pelvis has been removed to give us a better view. Here's the internal iliac artery. Its branches which go to the pelvic viscera have been divided. Arising from it, and a little discolored in this specimen, are the superior gluteal and inferior gluteal arteries. They both pass backward through the greater sciatic foramen, one above and one below the piriformis muscle, which is here. To see where they emerge, we'll go right round to the back, and remove gluteus maximus.

Here's piriformis, here's gluteus medius. Again, all the veins have been removed to simplify the picture. Here's the superior gluteal artery, and here's the inferior gluteal artery, branching to supply the muscles of the buttock region.