Femoral Artery (Human Anatomy): Image, Functions, Diseases and Treatments

The femoral artery is the main blood vessel supplying blood to your lower body. It starts near the groyne on the back of ones upper thigh and falls down to the back of your knee. Blood is delivered to the lower body mostly by femoral artery and its branches. Your tissues receive oxygen and nutrients through the blood.One of your body's main blood vessels is the femoral artery. It moves blood from the bottom of your belly through your lower extremities. This artery starts near the groyne on the top front of your thigh.

Near the top of your thigh, in the femoral triangle, is where the femoral artery is found. The triangle is located directly below your groyne, which is the fold that separates your legs from your abdomen. Following the knee, the femoral artery descends to the lower thigh. The popliteal artery develops from the femoral artery at the knee.

The femoral artery has branches that extend outward, but it generally runs downward in a straight line. The femoral artery is divided into several parts:

• Common femoral artery: The external iliac artery in the pelvis extends into the initial portion of the femoral artery. It has a number of branches that feed blood to the tissues in the groyne, pubic region, and abdominal wall.
• The common femoral artery splits off into the deep femoral artery. The femur, hip, buttocks, and tissues deep into the thigh are all supplied with blood via it.
• The common femoral artery gives way to the superficial femoral artery in this area of the thigh. It provides blood to the muscles in your lower leg's knee and the front of your thigh.

The common femoral artery is about 4 cm long (around an inch and a half). The leg's deep and surface areas continue to descend. By gender, weight, height, and ethnicity, the artery's diameter varies greatly. But typically, it measures 7 to 8 millimetres in diameter (about a quarter of an inch).

The common femoral artery is the best entry point for endovascular procedures because of its large diameter. A surgeon could indeed access other blood vessels in your body, particularly those near your heart, by inserting a catheter (a small, flexible tube) in to the your femoral artery.

Most arteries, such as the femoral artery, have three layers in their walls:

• Tunica intima: The inner layer keeps the blood flowing normally. It prevents blood clots, regulates blood pressure, and keeps pollutants out of your bloodstream.
• Because the inner layer is elastic, your blood continues to flow in one direction. The media helps the vessels expand and contract.
• Blood vessels' structure and stability are provided by the adventitia, its outer layer. It has microscopic blood channels that provide nutrients and oxygen from your blood to the femoral artery wall.

Blood is delivered to the lower body by the femoral artery and its branches. Your tissues receive oxygen and nutrients through the blood. Like some of the other arteries in the body, the femoral artery carries blood with a high oxygen content aside from your heart. The femoral vein runs parallel to the femoral artery. Your lower body's deoxygenated blood gets returned to your heart via this vein.

• Femoral Artery Compression: To stop bleeding from the distal end of the limb in the thigh or leg, the femoral artery may be compressed at the mid inguinal point against the head of the femur or against the superior ramus of the pubis.
• Femoral Artery Occlusion: Femoral artery occlusion may result from peripheral vascular disease, which is often brought on by atherosclerosis.
• Femoral Artery Laceration: The femoral artery is susceptible to laceration because of its exposed location inside the femoral triangle. The femoral vein is often lacerated in anterior thigh wounds because of its closeness to the femoral artery.
• Claudication: Prolonged narrowing or complete blockage of the femoral artery may result in calf tiredness and excruciating cramping when walking. A clogged artery in your leg may, in severe cases, necessitate amputating (removing) your toes, foot, or leg.
• Femoral Arterial Thrombosis: it is the name for a blood clot that forms in an artery. Because it may prevent or restrict blood flow to crucial organs, it is dangerous.
• Femoral Artery Transection: Due to forceful trauma to the hip, femoral artery transection may occur, which may lead to hemodynamic instability, limb loss, and long-term physical impairment.
• Femoral Artery Aneurysms: The most prevalent causes of infected femoral artery aneurysms, which contain organisms that are very resistant to traditional antibiotics, are endovascular arterial access or illegal drug injection.
• Iliopsoas Abscess: An unexpected side effect of catheterizing the femoral artery. A localised pus accumulation in the iliopsoas muscle compartment characterises the unusual ailment known as a psoas abscess (also known as an iliopsoas abscess).
• Femoral Artery Embolism: A dangerous disorder that develops when a blood clot obstructs an artery's ability to carry blood. Blood flow is obstructed and tissues are deprived of blood and oxygen when a blood clot becomes lodged. Legs and feet are often affected by these kinds of embolisms.

Maintain the healthiest possible condition of your blood vessels, including your femoral artery, by:

• Eating a balanced, nutritious diet reduced in saturated fats, cholesterol, and salt.
• Doing regular exercise.
• Keeping control of your blood pressure.
• Not a smoker.
• Lowering alcohol intake.

Blood tests for the femoral artery are performed to screen for diseases including diabetes, high triglycerides, and high cholesterol that are linked to PAD.

• Femoral artery ankle-brachial index (ABI): Femoral artery stenosis is often diagnosed with this test. It contrasts the ankle's blood pressure with the arm's blood pressure. You could be required to use a treadmill. To evaluate the arteries during walking, blood pressure measurements may be done before and right away after exercise.A femoral artery ultrasound employs sound waves to examine the blood arteries in the legs or feet to determine how the blood flows through them. Doppler ultrasonography is a specialised kind of ultrasound that may detect constricted or blocked arteries.
• Angiogram of the femoral artery: This procedure looks for artery blockages using X-rays, MRI images, or computerised tomography (CT) scans. A blood vessel is injected with dye (contrast) prior to taking the photographs. The dye enhances the visibility of the arteries on the test picture. CAT scan of the coronal portion demonstrating a superficial femoral artery pseudoaneurysm.

• A femoral artery blockage is removed using a treatment known as a femoral endarterectomy. For many years, femoral endarterectomy has been the therapy of choice, with supporters praising its practicability, safety, toughness, and long-term patency.
• Femoral artery surgical bypass: It is a flexible and adaptable technology that enables revascularization across a wide variety of disease patterns, from the aorta to the foot. The surgeon makes a path around the blocked artery by cutting through a healthy blood vessel from another part of the body or a synthetic one. Unhindered input, high-quality conduit, and sufficient outflow are the key components of technical success. The outflow should be enough to treat the clinical ischemia state and maintain adequate flow rates via the conduit, and the inflow source should be devoid of any hemodynamically relevant diseases.
• Open common femoral endarterectomy with simultaneous angioplasty and stenting: In order to accomplish limb revascularization with reduced invasiveness, vascular surgeons are increasingly employing hybrid procedures, which combine catheter-based and open techniques. These approaches are used for the femoral artery as endovascular therapies advance.
• Transradial method: The transradial method has been suggested as an alternative to conventional transfemoral access for diagnostic and therapeutic reasons in a number of catheterization procedures. Transradial endovascular for femoral artery.
• Femoral artery angioplasty and stent implantation: This treatment is used to clear blocked arteries. It is able to simultaneously identify and treat a clogged vessel. A thin, flexible tube (catheter) is steered to the constricted area of the artery by the medical professional. In order to open the narrowed artery and increase blood flow, a small balloon is inflated.
• Thrombolytic therapy: If a blood clot is preventing blood from flowing through an artery, a medication that dissolves clots can be injected directly into the affected artery.
• Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy is a medical procedure that uses strong chemicals to destroy the body's rapidly dividing cells. Chemotherapy is the main form of treatment for cancer because cancer cells grow and multiply far more rapidly than the majority of normal cells in the body. There are many different chemotherapy drugs available.

• Blood pressure controlling drugs: Uncontrolled hypertension can harden and stiffen the arteries. The blood flow may be slowed by this. Find out which blood pressure target is best for you by speaking with your doctor.If your blood pressure is too high, your doctor may advise you to take medication in order to bring it down. In this context, the use of medications such as ACE inhibitors and Calcium Channel Blockers can be helpful.
• Statins for treating atherosclerosis of femoral artery: People with femoral arterial disease frequently receive prescriptions for drugs called statins. Drugs from the statin class, including Atorvastatin and Rosuvastatin, are useful for lowering cholesterol.
• Analgesics for pain in Femoral artery: Analgesics such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and acetaminophen are all examples of medications and The drug cilostazol thins the blood and widens blood vessels.
• Thrombolytics: It is given intravenously as a potent 'clot-busting' medication to dissolve a blood clot and prevent femoral artery coagulation. For this, drugs like aspirin are helpful.

A medical emergency is a complete, unexpected occlusion of the femoral artery. Immediately seek medical help if you experience:

• Leg amputation (inability to move your leg).
• Your leg is numb.
• Extreme leg ache
• Leg suddenly feels chilly.
• Your leg has very pale or bluish skin.

The femoral artery may become permanently narrowed or completely blocked, which may result in claudication, weariness, and excruciating calf cramps while walking. A clogged artery in your leg may, in severe cases, necessitate amputating (removing) your toes, foot, or leg. If the tissues are without blood or oxygen for a long time, this might happen.