Introduction. The lateral circumflex femoral artery usually originates from
the lateral side of the initial part of the deep femoral artery, or less
frequently from the femoral artery. If it is a branch of the femoral artery,
it arises directly above the point of origin of the deep femoral artery. The
aim of this study was to determine the origin of the lateral circumflex
femoral artery, its origin distance from the midpoint of the inguinal
ligament and the topographical relations of the origin, which have a great
significance in clinical work. Material and Methods. A dissection was
performed on the autopsy group of 42 thighs, followed by the analysis of
anatomical relationships of the lateral circumflex femoral artery. All data
were entered into the custom-made protocol, which contained the case number,
age and sex, side, topographical- anatomical relations of the lateral
circumflex femoral artery, artery dimensions and variations, and the distance
between the place of origin of the lateral circumflex femoral artery and the
midpoint of the inguinal ligament. Results. In our study, the lateral
circumflex femoral artery most frequently originated from the deep femoral
artery, i.e. in 78.6% of cases. In 19.0% of limbs, it originated from the
femoral artery, and in one case (2.4%) from a common stem of the deep femoral
artery and the lateral circumflex femoral artery, coming from the femoral
artery. Conclusion. In clinical practice, it is of great importance to know
the origin variations of the lateral circumflex femoral artery while planning
and performing various surgical and invasive diagnostic procedures in the
inguino-femoral region.