The obturator vein begins in the upper portion of the adductor region of the

thigh In human anatomy, the thigh is the area between the hip (pelvis) and the knee. Anatomically, it is part of the lower limb. The single bone in the thigh is called the femur. This bone is very thick and strong (due to the high proportion of bone ...

and enters the

pelvis The pelvis (plural pelves or pelvises) is the lower part of the trunk, between the abdomen and the thighs (sometimes also called pelvic region), together with its embedded skeleton (sometimes also called bony pelvis, or pelvic skeleton). The ...

through the upper part of the

obturator foramen The obturator foramen (Latin foramen obturatum) is the large opening created by the ischium and pubis (bone), pubis bones of the pelvis through which nerves and blood vessels pass. Structure It is bounded by a thin, uneven margin, to which a str ...

, in the

obturator canal The obturator canal is a passageway formed in the obturator foramen by part of the obturator membrane and the pelvis. It connects the pelvis to the thigh. Structure The obturator canal is formed between the obturator membrane and the pelvis. Th ...

. It runs backward and upward on the lateral wall of the pelvis below 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 ...

, and then passes between the

ureter The ureters are tubes made of smooth muscle that propel urine from the kidneys to the urinary bladder. In a human adult, the ureters are usually long and around in diameter. The ureter is lined by urothelial cells, a type of transitional epit ...

and the

hypogastric 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 ...

, to end in the hypogastric vein. It has an anterior and posterior branch (similar to obturator artery).

Additional images

File:Gray541.png, Variations in origin and course of obturator artery. File:Gray547.png, The relations of the femoral and abdominal inguinal rings, seen from within the abdomen. Right side. File:Gray1159.png, Veins 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 ...

References

Veins of the torso {{circulatory-stub