The perineal artery (superficial perineal artery) arises from the

internal pudendal artery The internal pudendal artery is one of the three pudendal arteries. It branches off the internal iliac artery, and provides blood to the external genitalia. Structure The internal pudendal artery is the terminal branch of the anterior trunk of t ...

, and turns upward, crossing either over or under the

superficial transverse perineal muscle The transverse perineal muscles (transversus perinei) are the superficial and the deep transverse perineal muscles. Superficial transverse perineal ...

, and runs forward, parallel to the

pubic arch The pubic arch, also referred to as the ''ischiopubic arch'', is part of the pelvis. It is formed by the convergence of the inferior rami of the ischium and pubis on either side, below the pubic symphysis. The angle at which they converge is kno ...

, in the interspace between the

bulbospongiosus The bulbospongiosus muscle (bulbocavernosus in older texts) is one of the superficial muscles of the perineum. It has a slightly different origin, insertion and function in males and females. In males, it covers the bulb of the penis. In femal ...

and

ischiocavernosus muscle The ischiocavernosus muscle (erectores penis ''or'' erector clitoridis in older texts) is a muscle just below the surface of the perineum, present in both men and women. Structure It arises by tendinous and fleshy fibers from the inner surface of ...

s, both of which it supplies, and finally divides into several posterior scrotal branches which are distributed to the skin and dartos tunic of the

scrotum The scrotum or scrotal sac is an anatomical male reproductive structure located at the base of the penis that consists of a suspended dual-chambered sac of skin and smooth muscle. It is present in most terrestrial male mammals. The scrotum cont ...

. As it crosses the superficial transverse perineal muscle it gives off the ''transverse perineal artery'' which runs transversely on the cutaneous surface of the muscle, and anastomoses with the corresponding vessel of the opposite side and with the perineal and

inferior hemorrhoidal arteries The inferior rectal artery (inferior hemorrhoidal artery) is an artery that supplies blood to the lower third of the anal canal below the pectinate line. Structure The inferior rectal artery arises from the internal pudendal artery as it passes ab ...

. It supplies the Transversus perinæi superficialis and the structures between the

anus The anus (Latin, 'ring' or 'circle') is an opening at the opposite end of an animal's digestive tract from the mouth. Its function is to control the expulsion of feces, the residual semi-solid waste that remains after food digestion, which, d ...

and the

urethral bulb Just before each crus of the penis meets its fellow, it presents a slight enlargement, which Georg Ludwig Kobelt named the bulb of the corpus cavernosum penis. The bulb of penis is also known as the urethral bulb. The bulb is homologous to the ...

References

Arteries of the abdomen {{circulatory-stub