Arteries are blood vessels that supply the body with oxygen-rich blood from the heart. The saphenous branch descending genicular artery is one of the femoral artery’s main branching vessels, before it passes through the adductor magnus’s tendon opening. The term genicular is from the Latin word geniculatus, which means bent like a knee.
The saphenous branch descending genicular artery specifically refers to an artery that passes below the joint of the knee, along the inner side of the leg. In the process, the saphenous branch descending genicular artery accompanies the saphenous nerve, a branch of the femoral nerve, to supply blood to the leg and foot’s inner aspect.
The saphenous branch descending genicular artery pierces through the adductor canal’s aponeurotic covering. The adductor canal is an open area in the thigh and its aponeurotic covering is a sheet-like, fibrous tissue. This branch travels between the gracilis and sartorius muscles before it pierces the fascia lata, deep connective tissue of the thigh. Here, it distributes itself to the leg’s upper and inner surfaces. It also anastomoses (makes connections with) the with the medial inferior genicular artery in this area.