At the level of the iliac crest, it moves to the left common iliac artery. From the left common iliac artery, it joins the left external iliac artery. The red blood cell exits the perineum through the inguinal ring and joins the left femoral artery. The left femoral artery passes through the anterior muscles of the left thigh, inside the adductor canal and enters into the popliteal fossa through the adductor hiatus.
In the popliteal fossa, the red blood cell joins the left popliteal artery, which divides into an anterior and a posterior tibial arteries. The red blood cell joins the anterior tibial artery, which pierces the interosseous membrane to enter the anterior compartment of the left leg and beneath the tibialis anterior muscle.
At the level of the ankle, the red blood cell moves through the dorsalis pedis artery that lies on the dorsal surface of the foot. It then joins the arcuate artery before reaching the left great toe by passing through the left dorsal digital artery of the great toe. The red blood cell can also reach the left great toe by flowing through the posterior tibial artery, which is located in the posterior compartment of the leg. At the level of the ankle, the red blood cell joins the medial planter artery and then moves into the planter digital arteries of the left great toe.
Works Cited
Mitchell, Adam M., A. Wayne Vogl and Richard Drake. Gray's Anatomy. New York: Elsevier Health Sciences, 2009.
Netter, Frank H. Atlas of Human Anatomy. New York: Elsevier Health Sciences, 2010.
Sinnatamby, Chummy S. Last's Anatomy: Regional and Applied. New York: Elsevier Health Sciences, 2011.
