Upper leg arteries. Historical illustration of a rear view of the arteries and muscles of the upper legs. The arteries are coloured red to show that they supply oxygenated blood. The coccyx (the base of the spine) forms a triangular protrusion where the legs meet at upper centre. At upper right is the large muscle of the buttock, the gluteus maximus muscle. Some of the muscles have been removed from the left leg to show deep-seated arteries. Colour lithograph by Fairland from The Vessels of the Human Body, 1837. Based on drawings by J. Swandale.