New Clinical View on the Relationship Between the Diameter of the Deep Femoral Artery and Sex: Index δ-Anatomical and Radiological Study.

Abstract

Background: The femoral artery is a continuation of the external iliac artery. Knowledge of the topography and morphological variability of the thigh vessels informs various fields of medicine, such as hip replacement, hip fracture and femoral trochanter fracture, embolectomy, and angiography. The main aim of this study was to calculate the δ index from morphological measurements. We introduce the δ index to quantify the relative dominance of the DFA in supplying the thigh, aiming to improve clinical assessment and procedural planning. Methods: The study comprised two parts: anatomical dissection and radiological examination. During the anatomical study, 80 lower limbs (34 female and 46 male) fixed in 10% formalin were dissected. For the radiological study, angio-CT scans of the lower limbs of 100 patients (200 lower limbs) were analyzed. In both studies, the δ index was determined. This is the ratio of the diameter of the deep femoral artery at its point of origin to the diameter of the femoral artery after that origin. The morphometric measurements were analyzed statistically using Statistica 12.0 software. Results: The average values of the δ index for the right side were 0.95 (±0.23) and 0.89 (±0.21), respectively, in the anatomical and radiological studies, while for the left side they were 0.94 (±0.23) and 0.89 (±0.27), respectively. The average values for males were 0.88 (±0.18) and 0.80 (±0.17), respectively, while for females they were 1.04 (±0.26) and 1.12 (±0.23), respectively. Conclusions: The δ index, elaborated and calculated in anatomical and radiological studies, showed no statistically significant body side difference. However, it showed a statistically significant sex difference; there was a greater distribution of blood through the deep femoral artery in women than in men.