Perforating arteries

The perforating arteries, usually three in number, are so named because they perforate the tendon of the Adductor magnus to reach the back of the thigh.Cross-section through the middle of the thigh. The perforating arteries, usually three in number, are so named because they perforate the tendon of the Adductor magnus to reach the back of the thigh. They pass backward close to the linea aspera of the femur under cover of small tendinous arches in the muscle. The first is given off above the Adductor brevis, the second in front of that muscle, and the third immediately below it. The first perforating artery (a. perforans prima) passes posteriorly between the Pectineus and Adductor brevis (sometimes it perforates the latter); it then pierces the Adductor magnus close to the linea aspera. It gives branches to the Adductores brevis and magnus, Biceps femoris, and Gluteus maximus, and anastomoses with the inferior gluteal, medial and lateral femoral circumflex and second perforating arteries. The second perforating artery (a. perforans secunda), larger than the first, pierces the tendons of the Adductores brevis and magnus, and divides into ascending and descending branches, which supply the posterior femoral muscles, anastomosing with the first and third perforating.