The vascular lacuna (Latin: ''lacuna vasorum (retroinguinalis)'') is the medial compartment beneath the
inguinal ligament
The inguinal ligament (), also known as Poupart's ligament or groin ligament, is a band running from the pubic tubercle to the anterior superior iliac spine. It forms the base of the inguinal canal through which an indirect inguinal hernia may ...
.
It is separated from the lateral
muscular lacuna by the
iliopectineal arch.
[Ross, L.M., Lamperti, E.D. (2006). Thieme: Atlas of Anatomy: 489] It gives passage to the
femoral vessels,
lymph vessels and
lymph node
A lymph node, or lymph gland, is a kidney-shaped organ of the lymphatic system and the adaptive immune system. A large number of lymph nodes are linked throughout the body by the lymphatic vessels. They are major sites of lymphocytes that includ ...
s.
The lacunar ligament can be a site of entrapment for femoral hernias.
Anatomy
Its boundaries are the iliopectineal arch, the inguinal ligament, the
lacunar ligament, and the superior border of the pubis.
Contents
The structures found in the vascular lacuna, from medial to lateral, are:
*
Cloquet's node
Inguinal lymph nodes are lymph nodes in the groin. They are situated in the femoral triangle of the inguinal region. They are subdivided into two groups: the superficial inguinal lymph nodes and deep inguinal lymph nodes.
Superficial inguinal ...
;
*
Femoral vein
In the human body, the femoral vein is the vein that accompanies the femoral artery in the femoral sheath. It is a deep vein that begins at the adductor hiatus (an opening in the adductor magnus muscle) as the continuation of the popliteal v ...
;
*
Femoral artery
The femoral artery is a large artery in the thigh and the main arterial supply to the thigh and leg. The femoral artery gives off the deep femoral artery and descends along the anteromedial part of the thigh in the femoral triangle. It enters ...
; and
* Femoral branch of the
genitofemoral nerve
The genitofemoral nerve is a mixed branch of the lumbar plexus derived from anterior rami of lumbar nerves L1–L2. It splits into a genital branch and a femoral branch. It provides sensory innervation to the upper anterior thigh, as well as t ...
References
Muscular system
{{anatomy-stub