The deep artery of the thigh departs from the femoral artery. Femoral artery: structure, functions, anatomy. Functions of the femoral artery

The prodromal period (the period of precursors of the disease) is characterized by the first symptoms: fever, weakness, depression, loss of appetite. The duration of this period is from several hours to 4 days.

The incubation period is a certain period of time from the moment the microbe enters, until the first clinical signs of the disease appear. With different infectious diseases, it is not the same: from several days, months to several years.

Characteristic features of an infectious disease

infectious disease- has a number of features that distinguish it from non-infectious diseases.

Features of an infectious disease:

I. An infectious disease is caused by a certain specific pathogen.

II. The diseased organism itself becomes a source of the infectious agent, which is released from the diseased organism and infects healthy animals, i.e. Infectious diseases are characterized by contagiousness, microbe carrying.

III. In a diseased organism, the processes of formation of specific antibodies take place, as a result of which the organism, after recovery, in most cases becomes immune, i.e. immune to re-infection with the same pathogen.

The infectious process can be asymptomatic, covert, latent (latent infection). Latent infection may result in immunizing subinfection- a state when pathogenic microbes enter the animal's body in small doses and repeatedly, cause immunobiological reactions, the production of antibodies, but they themselves die. In such animals, functional disorders are not detected, and after slaughter, pathological changes in organs and tissues are not detected. Asymptomatic infection- invisible, inapparate, not manifested. dormant infection- latent, not manifested clinically. It is determined using allergic, immunobiological reactions, microbiological, virological and pathomorphological studies. It often happens with brucellosis, tuberculosis, glanders, paratuberculosis, etc.

The infectious process is characterized by cyclical development and includes the following periods:

1. Incubation.

2. Prodromal.

3. Clinical (the height of the disease).

4. Recovery (convalescence).

The period of development of the main clinical signs (the period of the peak of the disease)- the main signs characteristic of this infectious disease are manifested (with foot-and-mouth disease - aphthae, with rabies - paralysis, with botulism - muscle relaxation), depression, high temperature, respiratory failure, digestion, etc.

This period is changing recovery period (reconvalescence) - the physiological functions of the body are gradually restored. Clinical recovery in many infectious diseases does not coincide in time with the release of the body from the pathogen. After recovering from an infectious disease, in some cases, as a result of the formation of immunity, the body is completely freed from the pathogen, in some cases, after recovery, the pathogen remains in the body of animals for a long time. This condition is called microbe or virus carrier (salmonellosis, pasteurellosis, tuberculosis, etc.). Such animals are dangerous as a source of infectious agents. There is a microcarrier that is not associated with a previous illness, it is not accompanied by immunological restructuring and is detected only by bacteriological examination. This state is natural for conditionally pathogenic microflora, until its activation. For example, resistant animals can be carriers of Salmonella, Pasteurella, swine erysipelas, etc. There may be a short-term carriage of a pathogen that is unusual for animals of this species, such as the INAN virus in pigs, the swine mind virus in dogs. Such animals can serve as a source of infectious agents.

The course of an infectious disease can be fulminant, acute subacute, chronic, abortive, and the form of clinical manifestation can be typical and atypical. Forms of manifestation of the disease are characterized on the basis of the predominant localization of the pathological process (intestinal, pulmonary and skin forms of anthrax).

The acute course of the disease, usually lasting from one to several days, is characterized by a rapid manifestation of typical clinical signs. This is how anthrax, foot and mouth disease, emkar, and rabies can occur.

Perhaps a hyperacute (fulminant) course, in which the animal dies after a few hours, due to rapidly developing sepsis or toxemia (anthrax, infectious enterotoxemia and sheep brazil). Typical clinical signs in such cases do not have time to develop.

With a subacute, longer course, the clinical signs of the disease are also typical, but less pronounced. However, pathological changes are characteristic. In outbreaks of erysipelas or classical swine fever, for example, both acute and subacute course of the disease is noted, which is explained by differences in the resistance of animals and the virulence of the pathogen.

In a chronic course, the disease can drag on for months, and even years. Clinical signs are poorly expressed, and sometimes absent at all (with infectious anemia of horses, tuberculosis, brucellosis, glanders), which makes it difficult to diagnose the disease. The disease can take such a course with a decrease in the virulence of the pathogen and a sufficiently high resistance of the animal.

Transitions from one type of disease to another are not excluded. So, with erysipelas of pigs, the outcome of an acute or subacute course of the disease can be a chronic infection. There are also exacerbations of chronic diseases.

If a complex of clinical signs is characteristic of a given infectious disease, then the form of its manifestation is characterized as typical. However, deviations from the typical picture are not uncommon due to mild illness (anginous anthrax in pigs). Such forms of manifestation of the disease are considered atypical. In such cases, the incompleteness of the clinical picture and the blurring of clinical signs make it difficult to diagnose. In recent years, cases of atypical manifestations of infectious diseases (CSF, Newcastle disease of chickens, rabies and many others) have become noticeably more frequent. This is associated with changes in the biological activity of pathogens, with mass vaccination, with the widespread (often asymptomatic) use of drugs and especially antibiotics.

An atypical manifestation of diseases in malnourished animals due to the suppression of their immunobiological reactivity is not excluded. If the infectious process quickly ends with the recovery of the animal, then the course of the disease is called benign. But with a reduced resistance of the animal, the disease can take a malignant course, characterized by high mortality. Such a more severe, complicated form of the manifestation of the disease should also be considered atypical.

If the typical development of the disease suddenly stops (breaks off) and recovery occurs, the course of the disease is called abortive. An abortive disease is short-term, manifests itself in a mild form in the absence of some, often the main clinical signs. The reason for this flow is considered to be the high resistance of the animal. The abortive course of smallpox in coarse-wooled sheep is known, when the papules (nodules) formed on the skin quickly disappear, and the general condition of the animals remains satisfactory. The abortive course of myta in horses is characterized by short-term fever and a slight increase in lymph nodes without suppuration. If, after suffering an infectious disease and releasing the animal's body from its pathogen, re-infection occurs with the same type (serotype) of a pathogenic microbe, reinfection occurs. The main condition for its development is the preservation of susceptibility to this pathogen (absence or insufficient strength of immunity). Superinfection is also possible - as a result of (re)infection, which occurred against the background of an already developed infection caused by the same type of pathogenic microbe. A new infection that occurred before the release of the animal's body from the pathogen usually aggravates the disease, exacerbates its course. The return of an infectious disease, the reappearance of its symptoms after clinical recovery is called a relapse. It occurs as an endogenous reinfection with a decrease in the resistance of the animal and the activation of the causative agent of the disease that has survived in the body. Relapses are characteristic of diseases in which insufficiently strong immunity is formed. The infectious process is very often asymptomatic, hidden, latent (asymptomatic or latent infection). An immunizing subinfection should be considered a peculiar form of latent infection - this is a phenomenon when pathogenic microbes that repeatedly enter the animal's body in small doses cause immunobiological reactions, the production of specific antibodies, but they themselves die. Accordingly, the animal does not become a source of the pathogen, pathomorphological changes are not detected, functional disorders are not detected. This condition can be caused by pathogens of emphysematous carbuncle, leptospirosis, and other infectious diseases.

For the emergence of an infectious disease, conditions are necessary: first, the microbe must be sufficiently virulent; secondly, it is necessary to introduce a certain number of microbes; thirdly, they must enter the body through the gates of infection that are favorable for them and reach susceptible tissues; fourthly, the host organism must be susceptible to this pathogen; fifthly, certain environmental conditions are necessary under which the interaction between the microbe and the organism occurs.

Any infection begins with the attachment of the surface antigenic structures of the pathogen to the receptors of the host cells. The ability of pathogenic microorganisms to penetrate into the internal environment of the host, overcome protective barriers, and spread in the body is called invasiveness. This ability is associated with the production of enzymes (hyaluronidase, fibrinolysin, collagenase) that violate the integrity of some tissues and the presence of aggressins - substances that inhibit phagocytosis and bacteriolysis. Aggressins are part of the cell wall and capsule of many pathogenic microbes.

Serological studies are based on a specific reaction between antigens and antibodies.

Antigens- genetically alien substances, when introduced into the body of an animal (and a person), cause a response (antigenic property) in the form of the production of protective bodies - antibodies specific to the antigen. Antigenic substances are high-molecular compounds with certain properties: foreignness, antigenicity, immunogenicity, specificity, colloidal structure and a certain molecular weight. Antigens can be a variety of protein substances, as well as proteins in combination with lipids and polysaccharides. Antigenic properties are possessed by cells of animal and plant origin, animal venoms (snakes, scorpions, bees, etc.) and plant poisons (ricin, cortin, etc.), complex complexes consisting of polysaccharides, lipids, proteins. Viruses, bacteria, microscopic fungi, protozoa, exo- and endotoxins of microorganisms have antigenic properties. There are corpuscular, cellular (bacteria, erythrocytes) and soluble (molecularly dispersed) antigens. Antigens are polyvalent - they have several determinant receptors for binding to antibodies (antigenic function) both in the animal body (in vivo) and outside the body - in vitro (in vitro). Not only complete antigens have an antigenic function, but also defective ones (haptens), that is, substances of a non-protein nature (polysaccharides, lipid-polysaccharide complex of the somatic antigen of a microbial cell, etc. substances).

Antigenicity refers to the ability of an antigen to elicit an immune response. The degree of the body's immune response to a different antigen will not be the same, that is, an unequal amount of antibodies will be produced for each antigen.

Immunogenicity is the ability to create immunity. This concept refers mainly to viral and microbial antigens that provide immunity to infectious diseases. To be immunogenic, an antigen must be foreign to a given recipient, have a molecular weight of at least 10,000. Immunogenicity increases with increasing molecular weight. Corpuscular antigens (bacteria, fungi, protozoa, erythrocytes) are more immunogenic than soluble ones, and among the latter, high molecular weight, for example, aggregated, antigens are more immunogenic.

Specificity is a feature of the structure of substances by which antigens differ from each other. It is determined by the antigenic determinant, that is, a small section of the antigen molecule, which combines with the antibody developed against it. The number of such sites (groupings) is different for each antigen and determines the number of antibody molecules with which the antigen can combine (valency). The valency of the antigen depends on the number of determinants: the larger the molecule, the higher the valence.

Antigens are divided into complete and defective. Full-fledged antigens cause the synthesis of antibodies or sensitization in the body (sensitization is the acquisition by the body of a specific hypersensitivity to foreign substances, often of a protein nature, allergens) of lymphocytes, and react with them both in vivo and in vitro. Full-fledged antigens are characterized by strict specificity, i.e., they cause in the body the production of only specific antibodies that react only with this antigen.

Incomplete antigens, or haptens, are complex carbohydrates, lipids and other substances that are not capable of causing the formation of antibodies, but enter into a specific reaction with them. The addition of small amounts of protein to haptens gives them the properties of full-fledged antigens. The protein that enlarges the hapten molecule is called "schlepper"(German schlepper - conductor). Forsman's heterogeneous antigens are also haptens, which were described in
1911 Forsman showed that the organs of animals of different species (cats, dogs, horses, chickens, guinea pigs, etc.) contain a common antigen, but it is absent in humans, monkeys, rabbits, ducks and rats. This is a lipoid fraction that has the properties of a hapten.

conjugated antigens. This term refers to proteins that have acquired a new antigenic specificity due to the addition of a new chemical group to them using a chemical bond.

Antigens of animal origin are divided by specificity into species, group, organ and stage-specific.

species specificity. Animals of different species have antigens characteristic only of this species, which is used in determining the falsification of meat, blood groups by using anti-species sera.

Group specificity characterizes the antigenic differences of animals in terms of erythrocyte polysaccharides, blood serum proteins, surface antigens of nuclear somatic cells. Antigens that cause intraspecific differences between individuals or groups of individuals are called isoantigens, for example, group human erythrocyte antigens. Organ (tissue) specificity is characterized by unequal antigenicity of different organs of the animal, for example, the liver, kidney, spleen differ in antigens. Stage-specific antigens arise in the process of embryogenesis and characterize a certain stage in the intrauterine development of an animal, its individual parenchymal organs.

Autoantigens. In some cases, the proteins of their own tissues (heart, liver, kidneys, etc.) when combined with the protein of microorganisms, toxins or enzymes of bacteria, medicinal substances, under the influence of physical factors (burn, radiation, frostbite) change their physical and chemical properties and become alien for the body - autoantigens. The body produces antibodies against these antigens, causing autoimmune diseases.

Antigens of microorganisms. Viruses, bacteria, fungi and their individual structures, exo- and endotoxins have the property of full-fledged antigens.

There are antigens common to related species, which are designated as species and group antigens, and type-specific antigens, characteristic of a particular type (variant). Since viruses are complex antigens, some of which are associated with the antigens of the outer shell of the virus, some with the internal nucleoprotein, antiviral antibodies also have pronounced heterogeneity with a wide range of antibodies.

Antibodies- These are specific proteins - immunoglobulins, which are formed in the body by plasma cells under the influence of an antigen and have the ability to specifically bind to it. Antibodies are formed in the body as a result of natural infection, after the introduction of live or killed vaccines, upon contact of the lymphoid system with foreign cells and tissues. Antibodies according to their functional properties are divided into neutralizing, lysing and coagulating. Neutralizing agents include antitoxins, antienzymes, virus-neutralizing, lysine antibodies; to coagulating - agglutinins and lysing precipitins - bacteriolysins, hemolysins, complement-fixing antibodies have been isolated.

Taking into account the functional ability of antibodies, serological reactions of agglutination, hemolysis, precipitation lysis, etc. were named. Antibodies are divided into thermal (react at 37 ° C) and cold (creophilic) - react at 4 ° C in an electric field, blood serum proteins are divided into albumins and three globulin fractions: α, β, γ. During electrophoresis, it was found that antibodies are present only in β- and γ-fractions. By high-speed centrifugation, antibodies were divided into two main groups: 7S (sedimentation - sedimentation rate) - small molecules and 19S - large molecules, with 7S found in γ-globulins, and 19S - in β-globulins. Antibodies have a different number of active centers in the molecule, this determines their valency. Antibodies are divided into complete and incomplete. Complete antibodies, when interacting with an antigen, give visible reactions (agglutination, lysis, precipitation, etc.), incomplete antibodies, after interaction with a specific antigen, do not give a visible manifestation of serological reactions. When an antigen is introduced into the body, antibodies with different functional activity are formed (pricipitins, agglutinins, lysines, etc.). they are all identical, their action is different, there are at least 10,000 of these antibodies.

According to the International Classification, antibodies are called immunoglobulins and are designated Ig. Immunoglobulins are proteins with a quaternary structure, that is, their molecules are built from several polypeptide chains. The molecule of each class consists of two identical heavy (H) and two identical light (L) chains linked by non-covalent interactions, disulfide bridges and a tail. Light chains are common to all classes and subclasses. Heavy chains have characteristic structural features for each class (subclass). Light chains are divided into two types: K (Kappa) and l (Lambda). Heavy chains are denoted by Greek letters: g (Gamma), m (Mu), a (alpha), d (delta), e (epsilon) - according to the Latin designation of a particular class of immunoglobulins: IgG, IgM, IgA, IgD, IgE. At the end of each of the two “branches” there are two identical antigen-binding sites (because of this, antibodies are called bivalent), with the help of which antibodies sew antigen molecules into an extensive network, since each antigen molecule has three or more antigenic determinants. The efficiency of antigen binding and cross-linking reactions with antibodies is significantly increased due to the flexible hinge section at the junction of both "branches" with the "tail".

The concept of "infectious process", "infectious disease" and the forms of their course. Classification of infectious diseases.

Infection- the penetration of a microorganism into another organism with subsequent interaction under certain conditions.

infectious process- a set of physiological (protective) and pathological reactions that occur in response to the impact of a pathogenic microorganism.

infectious disease- the extreme degree of development of the infectious process, manifested by various signs and changes in the body of a biological, chemical, clinical nature.

An infectious disease is an infectious process in which there are clinical signs, a typical morphological substrate and an immune system reaction, accompanied by the accumulation of specific antibodies to an invading pathogen.

In clinical practice, a doctor may encounter situations where a patient may be infected, but there is no infectious process and clinical manifestations of an infectious disease in the body (“ carriership and its variants"). On the other hand, the patient may have an infectious process without signs of clinical manifestations of an infectious disease ( different variants of the infectious process - inparant infection, persistent infection).

Types of bacteria.

Response structure. Healthy (transient), acute (convalescent), chronic bacterial carriage.

Healthy (transient) bacterial carriage - with this type of carriage, there are no clinical and pathomorphological signs of infection and specific antibody formation (note - with intestinal infections).

Acute convalescent - isolation of the pathogen up to 3 months at the end of an infectious disease (note - with intestinal infections).

Chronic bacteriocarrier - isolation of the pathogen (persistence) for more than 3 months at the end of an infectious disease (note - with typhoid-paratyphoid infections, meningococcal infections).

Principles (clinical and epidemiological) classification of infectious diseases.

Classification. Epidemiological and clinical principles of the formation of classification features. Epidemiological and clinical classifications.

Epidemiological principle is based on taking into account the source of infection and the mechanisms (ways) of transmission (spread) of infection. There are several sources of infection: humans - anthroponotic infections, animal zoonotic infections and the environment - sapronose infections.

The following transmission mechanisms have been identified:

1. Fecal-oral mechanism

food

Contact-household transmission route

2. Aerosol

Airborne

Air and dust

3. Transmissible - bites by blood-sucking insects (lice, fleas, mosquitoes, ticks).

4. Contact (direct, indirect).

5. Vertical (transplacental).

Clinical principle- all infectious diseases can be divided into groups, according to the main mechanism of their transmission. The following groups of infections have been identified:

1. Intestinal (dysentery, salmonellosis, cholera, etc.)

2. Respiratory tract (measles, chicken pox, influenza, etc.)

3. Transmissible (blood) - malaria, typhus, tick-borne encephalitis, etc.

4. External skin (erysipelas, tetanus, rabies, etc.)

5. Congenital (rubella, toxoplasmosis, cytomegalovirus infection, etc.)

The clinical classification takes into account many of the classical approaches that exist in other disciplines, which makes it possible to classify infectious diseases into the following types:

1. typical (manifest, etc.) and atypical (erased, etc.);

2. localized (carriage, skin forms) or generalized (septic);

3. others (depending on the presence of the most demonstrative clinical sign: icteric, anicteric, with a rash - exanthema, etc.) or the leading clinical syndrome: diarrhea, tonsillitis, lymphadenopathy, etc.);

4. by severity -

Medium

Heavy

Particularly heavy (homogeneous)

5. downstream

Subacute

lingering

Chronic

Fulminant (lightning fast)

6. by complications

Specific

Non-specific

7. by outcome -

Favorable (recovery)

Adverse (chronization, death)

The main signs of infectious diseases: etiological, epidemiological, clinical and their characteristics.

An infectious patient, in contrast to a somatic patient, is characterized by 4 criteria:

1. etiological

2. epidemiological

3. clinical

4. immunological

etiological criteria.

The essence of the etiological criterion is that there is no infectious disease without a pathogen. The etiological criterion allows to identify the presence of microorganisms (bacteria, including rickettsiae, mycoplasmas, spirochetes, chlamydia, viruses, protozoa, fungi, etc.) that can cause an infectious disease. A certain pathogen causes a clinical picture characteristic only of it. Of great importance is the quantitative (infective dose) and qualitative (pathogenicity, virulence, tropism, etc.) characteristics of the etiological factor that affects the development, course and outcome of an infectious disease.

Epidemiological criterion

The patient is a source of infection and is a danger to others.

The susceptibility of a person (population) to infectious diseases is usually expressed by the contagiousness index. The contagiousness index is equal to the division of the number of cases by the number of susceptible. It varies widely (1 - with measles, 0.2 - with diphtheria).

Clinical Criteria

The essence of the criterion: an infectious disease is characterized by periodicity, staging, phasing and cyclicity of the course, in contrast to general somatic diseases. The cyclicity of the course is a change of periods strictly following each other: incubation (hidden), prodromal, the height of the disease, convalescence. Each of these periods has its own characteristics, the knowledge of which is necessary for making a diagnosis, determining the variant and volume of therapy, the rules for discharge and the terms of dispensary observation. The duration of the incubation period depends on the virulence of the pathogen, the massiveness of the infectious dose, and the premorbid immunological status. When determining the timing of infection, it is necessary to know the minimum and maximum duration of the incubation period. So, for example, in typhoid fever, the minimum incubation period is 7 days, the maximum is 25 days, however, in clinical practice, the average incubation period often ranges from 9 to 14 days. The duration of the incubation period is guided in determining the timing of quarantine, the prevention of nosocomial infections, and the admission of those who have been ill to the teams after the illness.

The prodromal period has its own clinical features. In a number of diseases, the symptom complex of the prodromal period is so characteristic that it makes it possible to make a preliminary diagnosis (catarrhal prodrome lasting 4-5 days for measles; catarrhal, dyspeptic, asthenovegetative, arthralgic or mixed syndrome in the preicteric period for viral hepatitis; prodromal "rush" rash, pain in sacral region, the primary wave of fever for smallpox.

Clinical features are most pronounced during the height of the disease. In most cases, the doctor has to observe the manifest forms of the disease, which have their own specificity. First of all, this applies to infectious diseases that are accompanied by exanthema, enanthema, tonsillitis, polyadenopathy, jaundice, hepatosplenomegaly, diarrhea, etc.

Immunological criterion

The essence of the criterion is that as a result of an infectious disease, immunity is formed. Immunity is a way of protecting the internal constancy of the body from living bodies and substances that bear signs of genetic alienness. Based on it, the human and animal organism, in the struggle for the constancy of its biological “I”, responds to the introduction of the pathogen with a whole system of specific and non-specific immunity factors controlled by genetic mechanisms. One of the main features that characterize the immunological criterion in infectious diseases is the specificity of the immune response in relation to the pathogen that caused the disease. The stereotype of immunological reactions on the one hand, and specificity on the other hand, allow the use of a number of serological markers of the immune response as diagnostic tests. The introduction into practice of methods of enzyme immunoassay (ELISA), amplification of nucleic acids (PNR, etc.) made it possible to conduct screening immunological studies in many infectious diseases and clearly differentiate the acute phase of the disease, carriage, protracted and chronic course. The acute phase of the disease is characterized by the accumulation in the blood serum of IgM class antibodies specific to the pathogen, while the detection of IgG class antibodies in the blood indicates an infectious process (PAST infection). Immunity after a disease can be persistent, lifelong (chickenpox, measles, rubella) or unstable, short-lived, species- and type-specific (flu, parainfluenza). It is divided into antimicrobial (typhoid, paratyphoid A and B), antitoxic (diphtheria, botulism), antiviral (natural smallpox, tick-borne encephalitis), etc. Immunity can be formed as a result of natural "fractional" immunization in contact with infectious patients. Active prophylactic immunization allows to form active post-vaccination immunity. The creation of collective immunity covering 95 percent or more of the population makes it possible to reduce the incidence of certain infections to isolated cases (diphtheria, poliomyelitis) and even to their complete elimination (smallpox).

The femoral artery (FA) in anatomy is a blood vessel originating from the external iliac trunk. The connection of these two channels occurs in the human pelvis. The diameter of the barrel is 8 mm. What branches does the common femoral artery consist of and where are they located?

Location

The femoral artery originates from the iliac trunk. On the outer side of the leg, the channel extends down into the groove between the muscle tissues.

A third of its upper part is located in the triangle of the thigh, where it is located between the sheets of the femoral fascia. A vein runs next to an artery. These vessels are protected by sartorial muscle tissue, they go beyond the borders of the femoral triangle and enter the opening of the adductor canal, which is located above.

In the same place there is a nerve located under the skin. The femoral branches go back a little, moving through the canal opening, go to the back of the leg and enter the area under the knee. At this site, the femoral canal ends and the popliteal artery begins.

main branches

Several branches depart from the main blood trunk, which supply blood to the femoral part of the legs and the anterior surface of the peritoneum. Which branches are included here can be seen in the following table:

Branch	Location
Epigastric femoral artery	Departs from the anterior part of the femoral vessel in the groin area. Then it goes into the depth of the superficial leaf of the wide fascia, moves up, after which it is located on the wall of the abdomen in front. In this place, it stretches under the skin, reaching the navel, it merges with other branches. The activity of the epigastric superficial artery is to provide blood to the skin, the walls of the external oblique muscle tissues of the abdomen.
genital branches	Usually there are 2-3 of them, they go around in front and behind the periphery of the femoral vein. After that, one of them goes up, reaches the suprapubic part and is divided into several more directions in the skin. The remaining branches move over the comb muscle, pass through the fascia and go to the genitals.
Femoral superficial artery	It departs from the epigastric vessel, goes around the ilium and moves to the upper part parallel to the crease of the groin. The function of the branch is to feed the integument, tissues, and lymph nodes in the groin with blood.

inguinal branches

They originate from the external genital arteries, after which they reach the wide femoral fascia. PVs provide blood supply to the skin, tissues, and lymph nodes located in the groin.

deep femoral artery

It starts at the back of the joint, just below the groin. This branch is the largest. The vessel stretches through the muscle tissues, first goes outward, then goes down behind the femoral artery. Then the branch moves between the muscles of the area under consideration. The trunk ends approximately in the lower third of the thigh, goes to the perforating arterial canal.

The vessel enveloping the femur leaves the deep trunk, heading into the depths of the limb. After that, it passes near the neck of the femoral bone.

Branches of the medial canal

The medial artery has its own branches that run around the femur. Branches include:

Rising. It is presented in the form of a small trunk that runs in the upper and inner parts. Then several more branches depart from the vessel, heading towards the tissues.
Transverse. Thin, goes to the lower zone along the surface of the comb muscle to pass between it and the adductor muscle tissue. The vessel provides blood to nearby muscles.
Deep. It is the largest in size. Moves to the back of the thigh, passes between the muscles and branches into two components.
Vessel of the acetabulum. This is a thin branch that enters other arteries of the lower extremities. Together they supply blood to the hip joint.

Lateral trunk

The lateral artery goes around the femoral bone, leaves the surface of the deep canal outward.

After that, it is removed to the outer region of the anterior iliopsoas, posterior sartorius and rectus muscles. Approaches the greater trochanter of the thigh bone and breaks up into:

Ascending branch. Moves to the top, goes under the tissue surrounding the fascia of the thigh, and the gluteal muscle.
descending branch. Is powerful enough. It starts from the outer wall of the main trunk, runs under the rectus femoral muscle, goes down between the tissues of the legs, nourishing them. Then it reaches the knee zone, connects with the branches of the artery located under the knee. Passing through the muscles, it supplies blood to the quadriceps femoral muscle, after which it is divided into several branches moving towards the skin of the limb.

Cross branch. It is presented in the form of a small trunk. The vessel supplies the proximal part of the rectus and lateral muscle tissue.

Perforating channels

There are only 3 of these stems. They start from the deep femoral artery in its various parts. Vessels move to the back wall of the thigh at the place where the muscles connect to the bone.

The first perforating vessel departs from the lower zone of the pectineus muscle, the second from the short, and the third from the long adductor tissue. These vessels pass through the muscles at the junction with the thigh bone.

Then the perforating arteries go towards the posterior femoral surface. They provide blood to the muscles and skin in this part of the limb. There are several other branches from them.

Descending artery of the knee

This vessel is very long. It starts from the femoral artery in the adductor canal. But it can also depart from the lateral vessel, which goes around the thigh bone. This is much less common.

The artery descends, intertwines with the nerve under the skin, then goes to the surface of the tendon plate, passes from the back of the tailoring fabric. After that, the vessel moves around the internal femoral condyle. It ends in the muscles and the knee joint.

The descending trunk of the knee has the following branches:

Subcutaneous. It is located deep in the medial wide tissue of the limb.
Articular. This femoral branch is involved in the formation of a network of joints of the knee and patella.

Vascular disorders

There are a large number of different pathologies that affect the circulatory system, which leads to disruption of the body. The branches of the artery of the femoral part are also exposed to diseases. The most common of them are:

Atherosclerosis. This disease is characterized by the formation of cholesterol plaques in the vessels. The presence of this pathology increases the risk of thromboembolism. A large accumulation of deposits causes weakening and damage to its wall, impairs patency.
Thrombosis. The disease is the formation of blood clots that can lead to dangerous consequences. If a blood clot blocks the vessel, then the tissues of the legs will begin to die. This leads to limb amputation or death.
Aneurysm. The disease is no less dangerous for the life of patients. With it, a protrusion occurs on the surface of the artery, the vessel wall becomes thinner and more vulnerable to damage. A ruptured aneurysm can be fatal due to rapid and massive blood loss.

These pathological conditions occur without clinical manifestations in the first stages, which makes it difficult to detect them in a timely manner. Therefore, it is necessary to check regularly for circulatory problems.

If one of the pathologies is detected, the treatment regimen should be prescribed exclusively by a doctor. Under no circumstances should these violations be ignored.

Thus, the femoral artery has a complex structure, a large number of branches. Each vessel performs its role, supplying the skin and other parts of the lower limb with blood.

The femoral artery (s. femoralis) is a continuation of the external iliac artery, passes under the inguinal ligament (through the vascular lacuna) lateral to the vein of the same name, follows the iliac crest groove down, being covered (in the femoral triangle) only by fascia and skin. In this place, you can feel the pulsation of the femoral artery, then the artery enters the adductor canal and leaves it in the popliteal fossa.

The following branches depart from the femoral artery:

Superficial epigastric artery (a. epigastrica superficialis) passes through the ethmoid fascia into the subcutaneous tissue, then goes up to the front wall of the abdomen; blood supply to the lower part of the aponeurosis of the external oblique muscle of the abdomen, subcutaneous tissue and skin. Located subcutaneously, the artery reaches the navel, where it anastomoses with the branches of the superior epigastric artery (from the internal mammary artery).
The superficial artery circumflex ilium (a. circumflexa iliaca superficialis) runs in the lateral direction parallel to the inguinal ligament to the superior anterior iliac spine, branches in the adjacent muscles, skin and superficial inguinal lymph nodes. It anastomoses with the deep circumflex iliac artery (from the external iliac artery) and with the ascending branch of the lateral artery surrounding the femur.
External pudendal arteries (aa. pudendae externae, only 2-3) exit through the subcutaneous fissure (hiatus saphenus) under the skin of the thigh and give to the scrotum anterior rami(rr. scrotales anteriores) in men and to the labia majora anterior labial branches(rr. labiales anteriores) - in women.
Deep artery of the thigh (a. profunda femoris) - the largest branch of the femoral artery, departs from its posterior semicircle, 3-4 cm below the inguinal ligament. The artery first goes laterally, then down and posteriorly (behind the femoral artery). Leaving backwards, the artery penetrates between the medial wide muscle of the thigh and the adductor muscles, in which its terminal branches end. The following arteries depart from the deep artery of the thigh:
1. medial circumflex artery of the femur(a. circumflexa femoris medialis) follows medially behind the femoral artery, goes deep between the iliopsoas and pectineal muscles, bends around the femoral neck from the medial side and gives off the ascending, transverse and deep branches. The transverse branch (r. transversus) goes to the long and short adductor muscles, thin and external obturator muscles. The ascending branch (r. ascendens) supplies blood to the muscles attached to the greater trochanter of the femur. The deep branch (r. profundus) passes posteriorly between the external obturator and square muscles of the thigh, gives muscle branches to the adductor muscles and the branch of the acetabulum (r. acetabularis), heading to the capsule of the hip joint. The medial femoral circumflex artery anastomoses with branches of the obturator artery, the lateral femoral circumflex artery, and the right perforating artery (from the deep femoral artery);
2. lateral circumflex artery of the femur(a. circumflexa femoris lateralis) departs from the deep artery of the thigh at its very beginning, goes between the tailor and rectus muscles of the thigh in front and the iliopsoas muscles in the back. Near the greater trochanter of the femur, the artery divides into ascending and descending branches. The ascending branch (r. ascendens) supplies blood to the gluteus maximus muscle and the tensor fascia lata, anastomoses with the branches of the gluteal arteries. The descending branch (r. descendens) supplies blood to the tailor and quadriceps muscles. Between the lateral and intermediate broad muscles of the thigh, it goes to the knee joint, anastomoses with the branches of the popliteal artery;
3. perforating arteries(aa. perforantes, first, second and third) are sent to the back of the thigh, where they supply blood to the biceps, semitendinosus and semimembranosus muscles. The first perforating artery passes to the posterior thigh muscles below the pectineus muscle, the second - below the short adductor muscle and the third - below the long adductor muscle. These arteries supply the muscles and skin of the posterior thigh and anastomose with branches of the popliteal artery.
The descending knee artery (a. descendens genicularis) departs from the femoral artery in the adductor canal, passes to the anterior surface of the thigh through the tendon gap of the large adductor muscle along with the saphenous nerve, then descends to the knee joint, where it takes part in the formation of the knee articular network (rete articulare genus).