Vesical arteries are variable in number. They supply the

bladder The urinary bladder, or simply bladder, is a hollow organ in humans and other vertebrates that stores urine from the kidneys before disposal by urination. In humans the bladder is a distensible organ that sits on the pelvic floor. Urine enters ...

and terminal

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 ...

. The two most prominent are the

superior vesical artery The superior vesical artery supplies numerous branches to the upper part of the bladder. This artery often also gives branches to the vas deferens and can provide minor collateral circulation for the testicles. Anatomy The superior vesical artery ...

and the

inferior vesical artery The inferior vesical artery (or inferior vesicle artery) is an artery of the pelvis which arises from the internal iliac artery and supplies parts of the urinary bladder as well as other structures of the urinary system and structures of the male r ...

. The superior vesical artery comes off 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 compa ...

and sometimes the

umbilical artery The umbilical artery is a paired artery (with one for each half of the body) that is found in the abdominal and pelvic regions. In the fetus, it extends into the umbilical cord. Structure Development The umbilical arteries supply deoxygenated b ...

. The inferior vesical artery comes off of the internal iliac artery. The inferior vesical artery is a

pelvic 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 ...

branch of the internal iliac artery in men; and in women it branches from the

vaginal artery The vaginal artery is an artery in females that supplies blood to the vagina and the base of the bladder. Structure The vaginal artery is usually a branch of the internal iliac artery. Some sources say that the vaginal artery can arise from the ...

. This literature has been reviewed recently with observations of variation in pelvic

vascularization Angiogenesis is the physiological process through which new blood vessels form from pre-existing vessels, formed in the earlier stage of vasculogenesis. Angiogenesis continues the growth of the vasculature by processes of sprouting and splitting ...

and the close relationship between

vaginal In mammals, the vagina is the elastic, muscular part of the female genital tract. In humans, it extends from the vestibule to the cervix. The outer vaginal opening is normally partly covered by a thin layer of mucosal tissue called the hyme ...

and bladder vascularization in women.

References

Arteries of the abdomen {{circulatory-stub