The superficial external pudendal artery (superficial external pudic 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 arises from the medial side of the

femoral artery The femoral artery is a large artery in the thigh and the main arterial supply to the thigh and leg. The femoral artery gives off the deep femoral artery or profunda femoris artery and descends along the anteromedial part of the thigh in the f ...

, close to the superficial epigastric artery and superficial iliac circumflex artery.

Course and target

After piercing the

femoral sheath The femoral sheath (also called the crural sheath) is a funnel-shaped downward extension of abdominal fascia within which the femoral artery and femoral vein pass between the abdomen and the thigh. The femoral sheath is subdivided by two vertical ...

and fascia cribrosa, it courses medialward, across the

spermatic cord The spermatic cord is the cord-like structure in males formed by the vas deferens (''ductus deferens'') and surrounding tissue that runs from the deep inguinal ring down to each testicle. Its serosal covering, the tunica vaginalis, is an exten ...

(or round ligament in the

female Female ( symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females ...

), to be distributed to the integument on the lower part of the

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the to ...

, 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 d ...

and

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 co ...

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 ...

, and the

labium majus The labia majora (singular: ''labium majus'') are two prominent Anatomical terms of location, longitudinal Skin, cutaneous folds that extend downward and backward from the mons pubis to the perineum. Together with the labia minora they form the ...

in the

anastomosing An anastomosis (, plural anastomoses) is a connection or opening between two things (especially cavities or passages) that are normally diverging or branching, such as between blood vessels, leaf veins, or streams. Such a connection may be normal ...

with branches of 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 ...

. It crosses superficial to the inguinal ligament.

Additional images

File:Gray580.png, The great saphenous vein and its tributaries at the fossa ovalis. File:Gray584.png, The femoral vein and its tributaries. File:Thigh arteries schema.svg, Schema of the arteries arising from the external iliac and femoral arteries. File:Slide4Nemo.JPG, Anterior abdominal wall.Intermediate dissection.Anterior view

References

External links

* () Arteries of the lower limb {{circulatory-stub

Course and target

See also

Additional images

References

External links