Lower Body Vasculature
Directions
- Print this PDF worksheet for a hardcopy guide as you work through this lesson.
- Within the lesson click the red linked headings to bring up the desired starting point within the cadaver for your work.
- Use the provided images on the worksheet to annotate and identify specific anatomical structures.
This dissection investigates the major blood vessels essentially below the waist. This initial view shows you both the arterial and venous vessels that we'll isolate in this dissection.
We'll begin by backtracking a bit to the abdominal area. Obviously, there is only one continuous and interconnected circulatory system. Our examinations have been regionally subdivided to simply make it easier to study digestible bites.
Identify each of the following, hopefully not a tough job since these should have been previously mastered.
- Abdominal Aorta - Here cometh the oxygenated/nutrient rich blood.
- Internal Iliac Arteries (Right & Left) - As you can see, the internal iliacs are limited to the pelvic region where they supply blood to the pelvis, buttocks, external genitalia, and upper thigh.
- External Iliac Arteries (Right & Left) - Note the extended length of the external iliac arteries. They supply blood to abdominal and pelvic regions but also extend down toward the leg.
- Femoral Arteries (Right & Left) - The external iliac arteries become the femoral arteries. These arteries supply blood to the pelvic region and continue down the thigh supplying blood primarily to muscles.
- Popliteal Arteries (Right & Left) - A continuation of the femoral arteries, the popliteal arteries continue down the leg where a pulse may be detected behind each knee (popliteal region). These arteries provide blood to a number of leg areas.
- Anterior Tibial Arteries (Right & Left) - The anterior tibial arteries begin where the popliteal arteries split. As the name implies, these arteries supply blood to the anterior aspect of the knee and leg.
- Posterior Tibial Arteries (Right & Left) - Also beginning where the popliteal arteries split, the posterior tibial arteries supply blood to the posterior aspect of the leg.
In order for a cardiologist to gather details about the coronary arteries and left heart chambers, a catheter may be inserted and advanced to the heart. This typically starts by inserting a catheter (tube) into the femoral artery in the groin area and pushing it carefully upward (superiorly). Use your specimen to identify a continuous arterial path from the femoral artery to the arch of the aorta.
You may remember doing a little heart surgery when you did the heart virtual dissection. Here's where you ended with that dissection. The right atrium and ventricle have been dissected away so you can see the coronary artery emerge from the ascending aorta. The catheter is threaded into the coronary artery where dye (a dense material that can be seen with X-rays) can be injected so the cardiologist can find blockages in the coronary arteries. Repair can be via a coronary stent or may require by-pass surgery which reroutes blood past the blockage.
Before our cardiac catheterization we left off having delivered blood to the lower limb via the arteries. Blood circulates through capillaries then begins recollecting into venules which, in turn, merge to form the major veins that drain the lower extremities. You will need to rotate your specimen to gain a good perspective of where these vessels are located.
- Anterior Tibial Vein (Right & Left) - Blood from veins of the foot drains into the anterior tibial vein which also collects blood from the ankle, knee and anterior leg regions.
- Posterior Tibial Vein (Right & Left) - This vein drains blood from the lateral and posterior aspects of the leg.
- Popliteal Vein (Right & Left) - The anterior and posterior tibial veins merge to form the popliteal vein. The popliteal vein also drains portions of the calf and thigh regions.
- Small Saphenous Vein (Right & Left) - This vein drains parts of the foot and posterior aspect of the leg. As you can see, the small saphenous vein empties into the popliteal vein.
- Great Saphenous Vein (Right & Left) - First, you need to be impressed with the length of the great saphenous vein. It is the longest vein in the body! :-o As you can see, this vein drains much of the lower extremity. The great saphenous vein is frequently used for prolonged intravenous fluid administration and frequently "harvested" for use in coronary bypass surgery. Why, you may ask? Take a look at the transverse cross section. Contrast the amount of muscle that the deeper vessels are embedded.
- Femoral Vein (Right & Left) - The femoral vein is a superior continuation of the popliteal vein ascending from the knee. The femoral vein drains much of the thigh and, of course, conducts the blood received from the leg and foot regions too.
A couple of cardiac procedures begin at the femoral vein by inserting a catheter and winding it up to the right side of the heart. Once there, exact measurements can be made within the right atrium and ventricle. Cardiac ablation is also used to correct arrhythmias occurring in the right atrium (home of the SA node). Track the vessels through which this catheter is threaded on its way to the heart.
The right side of the heart can be catheterized through the subclavian vein too. Inserted into the right heart, a Swan-Ganz catheter measures pressures directly within the heart's chambers.
This brings your excursion through the cardiovascular system to an end. See you back here for the lymphatic system.
Self-test Labeling Exercises