The deep artery of the penis (artery to the corpus cavernosum) is a small collateral branch 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 ...

that supplies the corpus cavernosum. The artery enters the

crus of penis The two crura of penis (one crus on each side) constitute the root of penis along with the bulb of penis. The two crura flank the bulb – one to each side of the bulb. Each crus is attached at the angle between the perineal membrane and ischi ...

at the crus' anterior extremity.

Anatomy

Origin

The deep artery of the penis one of the terminal branches of the

. It arises from the internal pudendal artery posterior to the inferior edge of the symphysis pubis while the internal pudendal artery is situated between the two fasciæ of the

urogenital diaphragm Older texts have asserted the existence of a urogenital diaphragm, also called the triangular ligament, which was described as a layer of the pelvis that separates the deep perineal sac from the upper pelvis, lying between the inferior fascia of ...

(deep perineal pouch).

Course and fate

It traverses the pelvic floor, then immediately enters the

corpus cavernosum penis A corpus cavernosum penis (singular) (from Latin, characterised by "cavities/ hollows" of the penis, : corpora cavernosa) is one of a pair of sponge-like regions of erectile tissue, which contain most of the blood in the penis of several animal ...

. It runs anterior-ward in the center of the corpus cavernosum penis, to which its branches are distributed. In the center of the corpus cavernosum, it splits into an anterior branch (which supplies the anterior two-thirds of the corpus cavernosum), and a recurrent branch (which supplies the posterior one third of the corpus cavernosum).

Additional images

File:Penvein.png, Arteries and veins of the penis (Spanish) File:Gray588.png, The penis in transverse section, showing the blood vessels. File:Penis cross section.svg, The penis in transverse section, showing the blood vessels, including the deep artery

References

External links

* * Arteries of the abdomen Human penis anatomy {{circulatory-stub