Femoral vein: course, relation to the femoral artery and tributaries
Where does the femoral vein run?
Blood from the leg has to climb back to the heart against gravity. The main channel for that return is the femoral vein, deep in the thigh; because it runs with the femoral artery, the two are easiest to learn together.
In the view above the right femoral vein is yellow and the red line beside it is the femoral artery; the blue lines are the great saphenous vein and veins of the other side. The femoral vein continues the popliteal vein from the adductor hiatus, rises along the inner thigh and passes under the inguinal ligament to become the external iliac vein.
Relation to the artery
The vein follows the artery throughout, but its position changes. Above the knee it lies posterolateral to the artery, in mid-thigh it lies behind it, and in the femoral triangle just below the groin it lies medial to it, giving the lateral-to-medial order nerve, artery, vein (NAV). In the upper femoral triangle artery and vein are enclosed together in the femoral sheath, with the artery laterally, the vein in the middle and the small femoral canal medially.
Tributaries: deep femoral and great saphenous veins
・Deep femoral vein: drains the deep thigh muscles alongside the deep femoral artery
・Great saphenous vein: rises under the skin from the medial ankle and dives deep just below the groin
The great saphenous vein passes through an oval opening in the fascia of the thigh, the saphenous opening, where the superficial and deep systems meet. The position of the junction and the number of tributaries vary; textbook drawings show one typical pattern.
Name and terms
Femoral means of the thigh. Related terms: deep femoral vein, great saphenous vein, femoral sheath, femoral canal. The Latin is vena femoralis.
See it in the app
The femoral vein and artery overlap so closely that their front-to-back relation is hard to see in drawings. In the 3D anatomy app teamLabBody you can show only the vessels, select the femoral vein and rotate it with the artery to watch the vein move from lateral to behind to medial between the knee and the groin. Add the great saphenous vein to see where it joins. Cross sections are available with the PREMIUM plan.
FAQ
- Where does the femoral vein run?
- From the popliteal vein up the deep thigh beside the femoral artery, under the inguinal ligament, where it becomes the external iliac vein.
- How is the femoral vein positioned relative to the artery?
- Medial to it in the femoral triangle just below the groin; posterolateral to it above the knee, changing position as it rises.
- Which veins join the femoral vein?
- Mainly the deep femoral vein from the deep thigh and the great saphenous vein from under the skin.
Related articles
・Femoral artery: runs beside the femoral vein
・Great saphenous vein: joins at the groin
・Popliteal vein: continues into the femoral vein
・Anterior femoral cutaneous vein: a superficial vein of the front of the thigh
・Sartorius: the lateral border of the femoral triangle
