 The "third perforating artery" (a. perforans tertia) is given off below the Adductor brevis; it pierces the Adductor magnus, and divides into branches which supply the posterior femoral muscles; anastomosing above with the higher perforating arteries, and below with the terminal branches of the profunda and the muscular branches of the popliteal.The nutrient artery of the femur may arise from this branch.The termination of the profunda artery, already described, is sometimes termed the "fourth perforating artery of Elliott" after the anatomist who first dissected its course.