The internal pudendal artery is one of the three
pudendal arteries
The pudendal arteries are a group of arteries which supply many of the muscles and organs of the pelvic cavity. The arteries include the internal pudendal artery, the superficial external pudendal artery, and the deep external pudendal artery.
...
. It branches off the
internal iliac artery
The internal iliac artery (formerly known as the hypogastric artery) is the main artery of the pelvis.
Structure
The internal iliac artery supplies the walls and viscera of the pelvis, the buttock, the reproductive organs, and the medial compart ...
, and provides blood to the
external genitalia
A sex organ (or reproductive organ) is any part of an animal or plant that is involved in sexual reproduction. The reproductive organs together constitute the reproductive system. In animals, the testis in the male, and the ovary in the female, a ...
.
Structure
The internal pudendal
artery
An artery (plural arteries) () is a blood vessel in humans and most animals that takes blood away from the heart to one or more parts of the body (tissues, lungs, brain etc.). Most arteries carry oxygenated blood; the two exceptions are the pul ...
is the terminal branch of the anterior trunk of the
internal iliac artery
The internal iliac artery (formerly known as the hypogastric artery) is the main artery of the pelvis.
Structure
The internal iliac artery supplies the walls and viscera of the pelvis, the buttock, the reproductive organs, and the medial compart ...
.
It is smaller in the
female
Female (Venus symbol, symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ovum, ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the Sperm, male gamete during sexual reproduction.
A female has larger gamet ...
than in the
male
Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization.
A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to ...
.
Path
It arises from the anterior division of internal iliac artery. It runs on the lateral pelvic wall. It exits the
pelvic cavity
The pelvic cavity is a body cavity that is bounded by the bones of the pelvis. Its oblique roof is the pelvic inlet (the superior opening of the pelvis). Its lower boundary is the pelvic floor.
The pelvic cavity primarily contains the reproducti ...
through the
greater sciatic foramen
The greater sciatic foramen is an opening (foramen) in the posterior human pelvis. It is formed by the sacrotuberous and sacrospinous ligaments. The piriformis muscle passes through the foramen and occupies most of its volume. The greater sciati ...
, inferior to the
piriformis muscle
The piriformis muscle () is a flat, pyramidally-shaped muscle in the gluteal region of the lower limbs. It is one of the six muscles in the lateral rotator group.
The piriformis muscle has its origin upon the front surface of the sacrum, and inse ...
, to enter the
gluteal region
The gluteal muscles, often called glutes are a group of three muscles which make up the gluteal region commonly known as the buttocks: the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus. The three muscles originate from the ilium and s ...
.
It then curves around the
sacrospinous ligament
The sacrospinous ligament (small or anterior sacrosciatic ligament) is a thin, triangular ligament in the human pelvis. The base of the ligament is attached to the outer edge of the sacrum and coccyx, and the tip of the ligament attaches to the sp ...
to enter the
perineum
The perineum in humans is the space between the anus and scrotum in the male, or between the anus and the vulva in the female. The perineum is the region of the body between the pubic symphysis (pubic arch) and the coccyx (tail bone), includi ...
through the
lesser sciatic foramen
The lesser sciatic foramen is an opening (foramen) between the pelvis and the back of the thigh. The foramen is formed by the sacrotuberous ligament which runs between the sacrum and the ischial tuberosity and the sacrospinous ligament which runs b ...
.
It travels through the
pudendal canal
The pudendal canal (also called Alcock's canal) is an anatomical structure in the pelvis through which the internal pudendal artery, internal pudendal veins, and the pudendal nerve pass.
Structure
The pudendal canal is formed by the fascia of the ...
with the
internal pudendal veins
The internal pudendal veins (internal pudic veins) are a set of veins in the pelvis. They are the venae comitantes of the internal pudendal artery. Internal pudendal veins are enclosed by pudendal canal, with internal pudendal artery and pudendal ...
and the
pudendal nerve
The pudendal nerve is the main nerve of the perineum. It carries sensation from the external genitalia of both sexes and the skin around the anus and perineum, as well as the motor supply to various pelvic muscles, including the male or fem ...
.
Branches
The internal pudendal artery gives off the following branches:
The deep artery of clitoris is a branch of the internal pudendal artery and supplies the
clitoral crura
The clitoral crura (singular: clitoral crux) are two erectile tissue structures, which together form a V-shape. ''Crus'' is a Latin word that means "leg". Each "leg" of the ''V'' converges on the clitoral body. At each divergent point is a corp ...
. Another branch of the internal pudendal artery is the dorsal artery of clitoris.
Some sources consider the
urethral artery
The urethral artery arises from the internal pudendal artery a branch of the internal iliac artery. The internal pudendal artery has numerous branches including the artery of the bulb of the penis immediately before the urethral and the dorsal ar ...
a direct branch of the internal pudendal artery,
while others consider it a branch of the
perineal artery
The perineal artery (superficial perineal artery) arises from the internal pudendal artery, and turns upward, crossing either over or under the superficial transverse perineal muscle, and runs forward, parallel to the pubic arch, in the interspac ...
.
In males, the internal pudendal artery also gives rise to the perforating arteries of the penis.
Variation
Around 70% of men have an accessory internal pudendal artery.
This usually does not originate from the internal iliac artery, instead originating from the
external iliac artery
The external iliac arteries are two major arteries which bifurcate off the common iliac arteries anterior to the sacroiliac joint of the pelvis.
Structure
The external iliac artery arises from the bifurcation of the common iliac artery. Th ...
, the
obturator artery
The obturator artery is a branch of the internal iliac artery that passes antero-inferiorly (forwards and downwards) on the lateral wall of the pelvis, to the upper part of the obturator foramen, and, escaping from the pelvic cavity through the ob ...
, or the
vesical arteries Vesical arteries are variable in number. They supply the bladder and terminal ureter. The two most prominent are the superior vesical artery and the inferior vesical artery. The superior vesical artery comes off of the internal iliac artery and some ...
.
Function
The internal pudendal artery supplies blood to the
external genitalia
A sex organ (or reproductive organ) is any part of an animal or plant that is involved in sexual reproduction. The reproductive organs together constitute the reproductive system. In animals, the testis in the male, and the ovary in the female, a ...
.
Clinical significance
In women, the internal pudendal artery may be damaged during
childbirth
Childbirth, also known as labour and delivery, is the ending of pregnancy where one or more babies exits the internal environment of the mother via vaginal delivery or caesarean section. In 2019, there were about 140.11 million births globall ...
.
This may cause a
haematoma, which usually resolves without treatment, but may form an infected
abscess
An abscess is a collection of pus that has built up within the tissue of the body. Signs and symptoms of abscesses include redness, pain, warmth, and swelling. The swelling may feel fluid-filled when pressed. The area of redness often extends b ...
.
Additional images
File:Gray236.png, Right hip bone. Internal surface.
File:Gray829.png, Dissection of side wall of pelvis showing sacral and pudendal plexuses.
File:Gray543.png, The deeper branches of the internal pudendal artery.
File:Gray1158.png, Diagram of the arteries of the penis
A penis (plural ''penises'' or ''penes'' () is the primary sexual organ that male animals use to inseminate females (or hermaphrodites) during copulation. Such organs occur in many animals, both vertebrate and invertebrate, but males do n ...
.
File:Gray588.png, The penis in transverse section, showing the bloodvessels.
File:Slide8khi.JPG, Internal pudental artery.Deep dissection. Lateral view.
See also
*
Pudendal nerve
The pudendal nerve is the main nerve of the perineum. It carries sensation from the external genitalia of both sexes and the skin around the anus and perineum, as well as the motor supply to various pelvic muscles, including the male or fem ...
*
Superficial external pudendal artery
The superficial external pudendal artery (superficial external pudic artery) is one of the three pudendal arteries. It arises from the medial side of the femoral artery, close to the superficial epigastric artery and superficial iliac circumflex ar ...
*
Deep external pudendal artery
The deep external pudendal artery (deep external pudic artery) is one of the pudendal arteries that is more deeply seated than the superficial external pudendal artery, passes medially across the pectineus and the adductor longus muscles; it is ...
References
External links
* - "Inferior view of female perineum, branches of the internal pudendal artery."
* - "Inferior view of female perineum, branches of the internal pudendal artery."
* - "Branches of internal pudendal artery in the male perineum."
* - "Sagittal view of the internal iliac artery and its branches in the female pelvis. "
* - "Sagittal view of the internal iliac artery and its branches in the male pelvis. "
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Diagram at MSU
{{DEFAULTSORT:Internal Pudendal Artery
Arteries of the abdomen