The lateral sacral arteries is an

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 ...

in the pelvis that arises from the posterior division 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 later splits into two smaller branches, a superior and an inferior.

Structure

The lateral sacral artery is the second branch of the posterior division of the

. It is a parietal branch.

Superior

The superior, of large size, passes medialward, and, after anastomosing with branches from the

middle sacral The median sacral artery (or middle sacral artery) is a small artery that arises posterior to the abdominal aorta and superior to its bifurcation. Structure The median sacral artery arises from the abdominal aorta at the level of the bottom quar ...

, enters the first or second

anterior sacral foramen The sacrum (plural: ''sacra'' or ''sacrums''), in human body, human anatomy, is a large, triangular bone at the base of the vertebral column, spine that forms by the fusing of the sacral vertebrae (S1S5) between ages 18 and 30. The sacrum situ ...

, supplies branches to the contents of the

sacral canal The sacrum (plural: ''sacra'' or ''sacrums''), in human anatomy, is a large, triangular bone at the base of the spine that forms by the fusing of the sacral vertebrae (S1S5) between ages 18 and 30. The sacrum situates at the upper, back part o ...

, and, escaping by the corresponding

posterior sacral foramen The sacrum (plural: ''sacra'' or ''sacrums''), in human anatomy, is a large, triangular bone at the base of the spine that forms by the fusing of the sacral vertebrae (S1S5) between ages 18 and 30. The sacrum situates at the upper, back part ...

, is distributed to the skin and muscles on the dorsum of the sacrum, anastomosing with the superior gluteal.

Inferior

The inferior runs obliquely across the front of the

piriformis The piriformis muscle () is a flat, pyramidally-shaped muscle in the buttock, 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 the

sacral nerves A spinal nerve is a mixed nerve, which carries motor, sensory, and autonomic signals between the spinal cord and the body. In the human body there are 31 pairs of spinal nerves, one on each side of the vertebral column. These are grouped into the ...

to the medial side of the anterior sacral foramina, descends on the front of the sacrum, and anastomoses over the

coccyx The coccyx ( : coccyges or coccyxes), commonly referred to as the tailbone, is the final segment of the vertebral column in all apes, and analogous structures in certain other mammals such as horses. In tailless primates (e.g. humans and othe ...

with the middle sacral and opposite lateral sacral artery. In its course it gives off branches, which enter the anterior sacral foramina; these, after supplying the contents of the

, escapes by the

posterior sacral foramina The sacrum (plural: ''sacra'' or ''sacrums''), in human anatomy, is a large, triangular bone at the base of the spine that forms by the fusing of the sacral vertebrae (S1S5) between ages 18 and 30. The sacrum situates at the upper, back part o ...

, and are distributed to the muscles and skin on the dorsal surface of the sacrum, anastomosing with the gluteal arteries.

Function

The lateral sacral arteries supplies

oxygenated blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the ci ...

to the

cauda equina The cauda equina () is a bundle of spinal nerves and spinal nerve rootlets, consisting of the second through fifth lumbar nerve pairs, the first through fifth sacral nerve pairs, and the coccygeal nerve, all of which arise from the lumbar enlargeme ...

Additional images

File:Gray612.png, Iliopelvic glands (lateral view).

References

External links

* - "The Female Pelvis: Branches of Internal Iliac Artery" {{Authority control Arteries of the abdomen