Vascularization of the hindlimb
The chief artery of the limb, the femoral artery, directly continues the external iliac artery (Figure 24-17l1,3). It reaches the femoral triangle, traveling in company with the femoral vein and nerve and almost at once detaches the saphenous artery and several larger muscular branches.
The saphenous artery (Figure 24-17lvein. The lateral vein joins the caudal femoral vein at the stifle.Lymph draining from the distal part of the limb passes mainly to the group of popliteal nodes tucked within the popliteal fossa between the biceps and semitendinosus. Efferent vessels from this group and additional vessels that arise within the thigh proceed mainly to the deep inguinal nodes within the femoral triangle. Some lymph from superficial structures passes to the subiliac nodes, which drain into the lateral and medial iliac nodes. The courses of certain lymphatic vessels may be manifested as cords visible through the skin in some lymph-borne infections.
and tibia to gain the dorsolateral aspect where it turns distally between the muscles and the bone. It comes to the surface at the hock and continues as the dorsal pedal artery and then, on entering the groove between the cannon and lateral splint bones, as the dorsal metatarsal