Surgical anatomy of the initial segment of the lateral circumflex femoral artery

INTRODUCTION: The lateral circumflex femoral artery usually originates from the lateral side of the initial part of the deep femoral artery, or less frequently from the femoral artery. If it is a branch of the femoral artery, it arises directly above the point of origin of the deep femoral artery. The aim of this study was to determine the origin of the lateral circumflex femoral artery, its origin distance from the midpoint of the inguinal ligament and the topographical relations of the origin, which have a great significance in clinical work. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A dissection was performed on the autopsy group of 42 thighs, followed by the analysis of anatomical relationships of the lateral circumflex femoral artery. All data were entered into the custom-made protocol, which contained the case number, age and sex, side, topographical-anatomical relations of the lateral circumflex femoral artery, artery dimensions and variations, and the distance between the place of origin of the lateral circumflex femoral artery and the midpoint of the inguinal ligament. RESULTS: In our study, the lateral circumflex femoral artery most frequently originated from the deep femoral artery, i.e. in 78.6% of cases. In 19.0% of limbs, it originated from the femoral artery, and in one case (2.4%) from a common stem of the deep femoral artery and the lateral circumflex femoral artery, coming from the femoral artery. CONCLUSION: In clinical practice, it is of great importance to know the origin variations of the lateral circumflex femoral artery while planning and performing various surgical and invasive diagnostic procedures in the inguino-femoral region.