Introduction
The femoral artery begins at the level of the midinguinal point as a continuation of the external iliac artery, and profound femoris artery (PFA) is the main branch of femoral artery that arises variably.
Aim
The aim of this study was to show the anatomical variations of PFA and its branches.
Patients and methods
(i) In the cadaveric study, femoral triangles of 20 lower limbs of 10 cadavers were dissected to study origin, course, and branches of PFA. The origin, course, and branches were noted. The distance of origin of PFA from midinguinal point was measured with the help of a scale. The width of femoral and PFA was measured with the help of a divider and a scale. (ii) In the radiological study, we retrospectively reviewed 49 patients (92 sides) undergoing femoral computed tomography angiography.
Results
Overall, 49.2% of them showed posterolateral origin of PFA on the right side and 62.7% on the left side followed by lateral origin in 33.9% on the right side and 23.7% on the left side, but the least percentage was to be posteromedial origin with no significant variations of other parameters (≥0.05) except for medial circumflex femoral artery origin to lateral circumflex femoral artery origin site of origin between right and left sides (≤0.05).
Conclusion
It could be concluded that variations of PFA and its branches are common, and it is most important to know variant origin of PFA and its branches, as they have an important role during preoperative clinical evaluation.