Lower Limb Arteries

Question 1

Why are the lower limb arteries important?

Answer 1

1. for assessing vascular health
2. for accessing the heart for cardiac procedures like angiography and angioplasty
3. supply blood to tissue

Question 2

Where is the most of the lower limb blood supply from?

Answer 2

iliac arteries

Question 3

What does the abdominal aorta bifurcate to give?

Answer 3

left and right common iliac arteries

Question 4

What does the common iliac arteries bifurcate to form?

Answer 4

1. Internal iliac artery

2. External iliac artery

Question 5

What does the internal iliac artery supply?

Answer 5

• smaller

- Lateral or medial? thigh and buttock from branches from

Question 6

What does the external iliac supply?

Answer 6

progresses as the femoral artery which branches supply the remainder of the lower limb but also contribute to the medial thigh

Question 7

When does the external iliac artery become the femoral artery?

Answer 7

external iliac artery passes from pelvis into thigh and it does so by passing under the inguinal ligament

Question 8

When does the femoral artery become the popliteal artery?

Answer 8

• courses inferiorly in the anterior thigh supplying some tissues locally before it passes posteriorly to enter the popliteal fossa (the space behind the knee)
• when the artery passes through the hiatus to enter the posterior knee regions it becomes the popliteal arter

Question 9

What happens to the femoral artery just after entering the thigh?

Answer 9

gives off a large branch, the deep femoral artery (also called profundus femoral artery) - this is the main artery of the thigh

Question 10

What is the course of the femoral artery in the anterior superior thigh?

Answer 10

1. in the femoral triangle
2. passes inferiorly out of the triangle
3. deep to satorius muscle
4. passes through the hiatus of adductor Magnus and when the artery passes through the hiatus to enter the posterior knee regions it becomes the popliteal artery

Question 11

What is the hiatus of aductor magnus?

Answer 11

a gap in the broad attachment of adductor mangus to the posterior femur

Question 12

What do the lateral and medial cirumflex arteries do?

Answer 12

encircle the proximal femur and give off branches supplying the head of the femur and lateral thigh muscles

Question 13

Where does most of the blood supply to the femoral head come from?

Answer 13

medial circumflex artery

Question 14

Where else does the femoral head receive blood supply from?

Answer 14

via the ligament of the head of the femur and this is the acetabular branch of the obturator artery

Question 15

Why is this ligament important in children?

Answer 15

1. In children this supply via the ligament is significant for the growing bone
2. In adults it accounts for a small fraction of overall supply to the head
3. This means that most of the supply to the head of the femur comes from distal branches - implications of this arrangement in hip injury

Question 16

What can hip injury lead to?

Answer 16

• artery head of femur damaged in intracapsular fractures of femoral neck?
• avascular necrosis of the femroal head

Question 17

What happens when the femoral artery is in the popliteal fossa?

Answer 17

gives off a number of genicular (knee) branches supplying the knee

Question 18

What happens to the popliteal artery as it courses inferiorly and leaves the popliteal fossa?

Answer 18

becomes tibial artery

Question 19

What is the tibia artery?

Answer 19

short and divides to form the anterior and posterior tibial arteries

Question 20

What does the posterior tibial artery give rise to?

Answer 20

lateral branch the peroneal artery

Question 21

What does the posterior tibial and peroneal arteries supply?

Answer 21

posterior and lateral compartments of the leg

Question 22

How does the posterior tibial artery enter the foot?

Answer 22

• inferiorly towards the ankle
• posteriorly to the medial
• enter the foot as lateral and medial plantar arteries

Question 23

What is the journey of the anterior tibial artery?

Answer 23

pierces the superior interossues membrane to enter the deep anterior compartment of the leg

Question 24

What does the anterior tibial artery supply?

Answer 24

anterior compartment as it runs on the anterior surface of the interosseous membrane towards the ankle

Question 25

What happens when the anterior tibial artery crosses the ankle?

Answer 25

become the dorsalis pedis artery

Question 26

Where can you feel a pulse on the lower limb?

Answer 26

1. popliteal
2. posterior tibial
3. dorsalis pedis pulses
4. femoral pulse

Question 27

Why is it clinically important to feel pulses on the lower limb?

Answer 27

determining the vascular health of the lower limb

Question 28

Where is the posterior tibial artery at the ankle?

Answer 28

• medial aspect of the ankle
• between calcaeneal tendon and the tendons from the deep posterior leg muscles which are opposed to the medial malleolus

Question 29

On the dorsum of the foot what does the dorsalis pedis artery give rise to?

Answer 29

arcuate artery

Question 30

On the sole of the foot what do the medial and lateral plantar arteries contribute to?

Answer 30

the plantar arch

Question 31

How are the arcuate and plantar arches connected?

Answer 31

by perforating arteries