Femoral Triangle

Question 1

What are the three borders of the femoral

Answer 1

Superior border – Formed by the inguinal ligament,

Lateral border – Formed by the medial border of the sartorius muscle.

Medial border – Formed by the medial border of the adductor longus muscle. The rest of this muscle forms part of the floor of the triangle.

Question 2

What makes up the floor and roof of the femoral triangle?

Answer 2

• Anteriorly, the roof of the femoral triangle is formed by the fascia lata.
• Posteriorly, the base of the femoral triangle is formed by the pectineus, iliopsoas and adductor longus muscles.

Question 3

Where does the inguinal ligament run from and to? What does it do?

Answer 3

The inguinal ligament runs from the anterior superior iliac spine to the pubis tubercle.

It acts as a flexor retinaculum, supporting the contents of the femoral triangle during flexion at the hip

Question 4

Where would you find the femoral pulse?

Answer 4

Just inferior to where the femoral artery crosses the inguinal ligament, it can be palpated to measure the femoral pulse. The femoral artery crosses exactly midway between the pubis symphysis and anterior superior iliac spine. The presence of a femoral pulse means that blood is reaching the lower extremity.

Question 5

Within the femoral triangle, the femoral artery is located superficially, and thus easy to access. This makes it suitable for a range of clinical procedures.

Describe one such procedure.

Answer 5

e.g. coronary angiography. Here, the femoral artery is catheterised with a long, thin tube. This tube is navigated up the external iliac artery, common iliac artery, aorta, and into the coronary vessels. A radioactive dye is then ejected into the coronary vessels, and any wall thickening or blockages can be visualised via x-ray imaging. The femoral artery can also be catheterised to draw blood for arterial blood gases.

Question 6

What are the contents of the femoral triangle?

Answer 6

• Femoral nerve – Innervates the anterior compartment of the thigh, and provides sensory branches for the leg and foot.
• Femoral artery – Responsible for the majority of the arterial supply to the lower limb.
• Femoral vein – The great saphenous vein drains into the femoral vein within the triangle.
• Femoral canal – A structure which contains deep lymph nodes and vessels.

Question 7

Describe the femoral sheath & its contents

Answer 7

A fascial compartment which contains the femoral artery, vein and canal.

nb. NOT the femoral nerve