Lower Limb Arteries Diagram – Label the Arteries of the Leg

All 16 arteries on the diagram

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Pelvis and thigh 7

Common iliac artery One goes to each side. It divides into the internal and external iliac arteries.
Internal iliac artery It supplies the pelvis, not the leg.
External iliac artery It becomes the femoral artery as it passes into the thigh.
Femoral artery The main artery of the thigh. Behind the knee it becomes the popliteal artery.
Deep femoral artery It feeds the thigh muscles.
Lateral circumflex femoral artery A branch of the deep femoral artery.
Genicular artery A branch of the femoral artery that supplies the knee.

Knee, leg and foot 9

Anterior tibial artery It comes through from the back below the knee. It runs between the tibia and fibula.
Dorsalis pedis artery The anterior tibial artery takes this name at the ankle. Its pulse can be felt on the top of the foot.
Arcuate artery Also called the dorsal arch; it feeds the toes.
Popliteal artery The femoral artery takes this name behind the knee. It splits into the two tibial arteries.
Posterior tibial artery It runs to the sole of the foot.
Fibular artery Also called the peroneal artery; it runs beside the fibula.
Lateral plantar artery It forms most of the plantar arch.
Medial plantar artery The smaller of the two plantar arteries.
Plantar arch Made mainly by the lateral plantar artery, it feeds the toes.

How this list was compiled: Every name and detail checked on 2026-09-29 against OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology 2e, section 20.5 Circulatory Pathways, Arteries Serving the Pelvis and Lower Limbs and table 20.10 (common, internal and external iliac, femoral, deep femoral, lateral circumflex, genicular, popliteal, anterior and posterior tibial, dorsalis pedis, fibular or peroneal, medial and lateral plantar arteries, and the dorsal or arcuate arch and the plantar arch), https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology-2e/pages/20-5-circulatory-pathways, and against Wikipedia, text only: List of arteries of the human body, Deep femoral artery, Lateral circumflex femoral artery, Descending genicular artery, Fibular artery, Medial plantar artery, Arcuate artery of the foot and Plantar arch. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-05 in code (own drawing, nothing traced): a figure with the right leg held out to the side from the front and the same leg from the back, with ghost bones and the arteries as tapering tubes. The courses of the arteries and the forms of the bones were checked against public domain plates of Henry Gray, Anatomy of the Human Body, 20th edition, 1918 (Wikimedia Commons, public domain): fig. 548 (scheme of the femoral artery, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gray548.png), fig. 550 (the femoral artery, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gray550.png), fig. 551 (the popliteal, posterior tibial and peroneal arteries, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gray551.png), fig. 553 (anterior tibial and dorsalis pedis arteries, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gray553.png), fig. 555 (the plantar arteries, deep view, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gray555.png) and fig. 531 (the abdominal aorta and its branches, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gray531.png). Licence: own work

How it works

The right leg held out to the side, its outer edge at the top. The front view follows the arteries from the aorta to the top of the foot; the back view, from behind the knee to the sole.

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Follow the blood down

The aorta splits into the common iliac arteries. On each side the external iliac becomes the femoral artery in the thigh, with the deep femoral beneath it. Behind the knee the femoral becomes the popliteal, which splits into the anterior and posterior tibial arteries. They end on the top of the foot and in the sole.

Popliteal is behind the knee; it is the femoral artery's name once it passes to the back of the leg.

Questions and answers

What are the main arteries of the leg?

The femoral artery in the thigh, with the deep femoral beneath it; the popliteal artery behind the knee; and the anterior and posterior tibial arteries in the lower leg, with the fibular artery branching from the posterior tibial.

Where can you feel a pulse in the foot?

On the top of the foot, over the dorsalis pedis artery, and behind the inner ankle bone, over the posterior tibial artery.

What is the difference between the femoral and the deep femoral artery?

The femoral artery is the main artery running down the thigh to the knee. The deep femoral artery is its large branch that stays deep and feeds the thigh muscles.