Studies on the blood vascular tree. I. A composite study of the femoral artery

The constant presence of variations in the origin of the branches of the larger arterial trunks of the body is evident from even general observations in the laboratory during regular class dissections.Hitzrot's study of the axillary artery and Bean's on the subclavian artery disclose the fact, that the variations in the origin of the branches of these vessels conformed to well defined anatomic types.At the suggestion of Prof. J. Parsons Schaeffer a study of the blood vascular tree was begun at the beginning of the college year, 1914.In this the first paper, a study of the femoral artery will be presented.I wish to take this opportunity of acknowledging my thanks and gratitude to Doctor Schaeffer for the interest and attention he has given every detail of this study.The records which underlie the present study were made from dissections by students and from personal dissections at the Daniel Baugh Institute of Anatomy of the Jefferson Medical College.Dissections of fifty-three cadavers were.recorded : twenty-eight male white, six female white, four female negro, and fifteen male negro.There were forty-nine dissections from the left side of the body and fifty from the right side, ninety-nine in all.While many minor variations not entirely in accord with the described types were observed in this study, yet the cases permit of a classification into distinct types.The classification of the femoral artery into its types is based on the origin and distribution of the profunda femoris artery and the medial and lateral 361