In an adult, the chief arterial supply to the head and neck of the femur comes from which vessel?

• A Inferior gluteal artery
• B Lateral circumflex femoral artery
• C Artery of the ligamentum teres
• D Medial circumflex femoral artery ✓

Explanation

In adults the medial circumflex femoral artery, a branch of the profunda femoris, provides the principal supply to the femoral head via its retinacular (posterior ascending cervical) branches that pass beneath the quadratus femoris along the posterosuperior neck. The artery within the ligamentum teres (acetabular branch of the obturator) contributes little after childhood because it is frequently obliterated, which explains avascular necrosis when the retinacular vessels are torn in intracapsular fractures.

Reference: Gray's Anatomy, 42nd ed.

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