An elderly woman sustains an intracapsular fracture of the femoral neck. She is warned about a high risk of avascular necrosis of the femoral head. Which vessel provides the most important arterial supply that is disrupted in this fracture?

• A Retinacular branches of the medial circumflex femoral artery ✓
• B Artery of the ligamentum teres
• C Inferior gluteal artery
• D Descending branch of the lateral circumflex femoral artery

Explanation

In adults the femoral head is supplied chiefly by retinacular arteries arising from the medial circumflex femoral artery, which ascend along the neck beneath the capsule and are torn in intracapsular fractures. The artery of the ligamentum teres, a branch of the obturator artery, contributes negligibly after childhood, so option B is the classic distractor killed by this fact.

Reference: Gray's Anatomy for Students, 4th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

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