Set of perforating arteries

Looks like

Usually three or four arteries from the deep femoral artery that pierce the adductor magnus close to the thigh bone.

What it does

Supply the hamstrings, the back of the thigh and the femur, and link in a chain down the back of the thigh.

Keeping it well

They bleed in femur fractures and thigh surgery; their chain is a natural bypass round a blocked femoral artery.

Related conditions

• Chronic venous insufficiency
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Hypothermia & frostbite
• Kawasaki disease
• Lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis)
• Lymphoedema
• Metabolic syndrome
• Orthostatic hypotension & POTS
• Peripheral artery disease
• Phaeochromocytoma & hyperaldosteronism
• Polymyalgia rheumatica
• Pre-eclampsia
• Raynaud's phenomenon
• Restless legs syndrome
• Sepsis
• Shock (circulatory failure)
• Varicose veins
• Vasculitis (GCA & others)