Lower limb
Lateral circumflex femoral artery
Arteria circumflexa femoris lateralis
- Origin
- Arises from the profunda femoris artery (or directly from femoral artery)
- Insertion
- Passes laterally deep to sartorius and rectus femoris, dividing into ascending, transverse, and descending branches
- Function
- Supplies the quadriceps femoris, tensor fasciae latae, hip joint, and contributes to the genicular anastomosis
- Innervation
- Sympathetic vasomotor fibers
- Movement & chain
- Radiates across the anterolateral thigh
- Palpation
- Not palpable through anterior thigh musculature
- Clinical
- Descending branch forms the vascular pedicle of the Anterolateral Thigh (ALT) flap, the workhorse flap in reconstructive microsurgery
- Segmental innervation
- L2–L4 roots
- In clinical practice
- Critical anatomical landmark during anterior hip approaches (Smith-Petersen, Watson-Jones) and ALT flap harvest
- Region in the model
- Lower limb