The medial circumflex femoral artery (internal circumflex artery, medial femoral circumflex artery) is an artery

Artery

Arteries are blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart. This blood is normally oxygenated, exceptions made for the pulmonary and umbilical arteries....

 in the upper thigh that helps supply blood to the neck of the femur.

Structure

The medial femoral circumflex artery arises from the medial and posterior aspect of the profunda femoris artery, and winds around the medial side of the femur

Femur

The femur , or thigh bone, is the most proximal bone of the leg in tetrapod vertebrates capable of walking or jumping, such as most land mammals, birds, many reptiles such as lizards, and amphibians such as frogs. In vertebrates with four legs such as dogs and horses, the femur is found only in...

, passing first between the pectineus and iliopsoas

Iliopsoas

-External links:*...

 muscles, and then between the obturator externus and the adductor brevis muscles.

The medial femoral circumflex artery may occasionally arise directly from the femoral artery

Femoral artery

The femoral artery is a general term comprising a few large arteries in the thigh. They begin at the inguinal ligament and end just above the knee at adductor canal or Hunter's canal traversing the extent of the femur bone....

.

Branches

At the upper border of the adductor brevis it gives off two branches:

• The ascending branch
  Ascending branch of medial circumflex femoral artery
  The ascending branch is distributed to the adductor muscles of the thigh, the gracilis muscle, and obturator externus muscle, and anastomoses with the obturator artery....
  
  

• The descending branch descends beneath the adductor brevis, to supply it and the adductor magnus; the continuation of the vessel passes backward and divides into superficial, deep, and acetabular branches.
  • The superficial branch
    Superficial branch of medial circumflex femoral artery
    The superficial branch appears between the quadratus femoris and upper border of the adductor magnus, and anastomoses with the inferior gluteal artery, lateral femoral circumflex artery, and first of the perforating arteries of the profunda femoris ....
    
    
  • The deep branch
    Deep branch of medial circumflex femoral artery
    The deep branch runs obliquely upward upon the tendon of the obturator externus and in front of the quadratus femoris toward the trochanteric fossa, where it anastomoses with twigs from the superior gluteal artery and inferior gluteal artery....
    
    
  • The acetabular branch
    Acetabular branch of medial circumflex femoral artery
    The acetabular branch arises opposite the acetabular notch and enters the hip-joint beneath the transverse ligament in company with an articular branch from the obturator artery; it supplies the fat in the bottom of the acetabulum, and is continued along the ligament to the head of the femur....
    
    

External links

- "Arteries of the lower extremity shown in association with major landmarks."