Variational anatomy of the profunda femoris artery in Thais.

The profunda femoris artery is the great vessel in the thigh. To study the origin and branching variations of this artery, 113 legs were dissected and then the anatomical patterns were classified. The profunda femoris artery originated at an average distance of 4.28 cm. below the inquinal ligament. The most common origin was postero-lateral, occurring in 37.2% of the specimens. The most common origin of the lateral circumflex femoral artery was of the branch from the profunda femoris artery similar to the medial circumflex femoral artery occurring in 77.0% of the specimens. The average number of perforating arteries was three, including the end of the profunda femoris artery.