The internal pudendal 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. Th ...

. It branches off 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 com ...

, and provides blood to the external genitalia.

Structure

The internal pudendal

artery An artery () is a blood vessel in humans and most other animals that takes oxygenated blood away from the heart in the systemic circulation to one or more parts of the body. Exceptions that carry deoxygenated blood are the pulmonary arteries in ...

is the terminal branch of the anterior trunk of the

. It is smaller in the

female An organism's sex is female ( symbol: ♀) if it produces the ovum (egg cell), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete (sperm cell) during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females and ...

than in the

male Male (Planet symbols, symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or Egg cell, ovum, in the process of fertilisation. A male organism cannot sexual repro ...

Path

It arises from the anterior division of internal iliac artery. It runs on the lateral pelvic wall. It exits the

pelvic cavity The pelvic cavity is a body cavity that is bounded by the bones of the pelvis. Its oblique roof is the pelvic inlet (the superior opening of the pelvis). Its lower boundary is the pelvic floor. The pelvic cavity primarily contains the reproduc ...

through the

greater sciatic foramen The greater sciatic foramen is an opening (:wikt:foramen, foramen) in the posterior human pelvis. It is formed by the sacrotuberous ligament, sacrotuberous and sacrospinous ligaments. The piriformis muscle passes through the foramen and occupies ...

, inferior to the

piriformis muscle The piriformis muscle () is a flat, pyramidally-shaped muscle in the buttock, gluteal region of the lower limbs. It is one of the six muscles in the lateral rotator group. The piriformis muscle has its origin upon the front surface of the sacrum, ...

, to enter the

gluteal region The gluteal muscles, often called glutes, are a group of three muscles which make up the gluteal region commonly known as the buttocks: the gluteus maximus muscle, gluteus maximus, gluteus medius muscle, gluteus medius and gluteus minimus muscl ...

. It then curves around the

sacrospinous ligament The sacrospinous ligament (small or anterior sacrosciatic ligament) is a thin, triangular ligament in the human pelvis. The base of the ligament is attached to the outer edge of the sacrum and coccyx, and the tip of the ligament attaches to the i ...

to enter the

perineum The perineum (: perineums or perinea) in placentalia, placental mammals is the space between the anus and the genitals. The human perineum is between the anus and scrotum in the male or between the anus and vulva in the female. The perineum is ...

through the

lesser sciatic foramen The lesser sciatic foramen is an opening (foramen) between the pelvis and the back of the thigh. The foramen is formed by the sacrotuberous ligament which runs between the sacrum and the ischial tuberosity and the sacrospinous ligament which runs ...

. It travels through the pudendal canal with the

internal pudendal veins The internal pudendal veins (internal pudic veins) are a set of veins in the pelvis. They are the venae comitantes of the internal pudendal artery. Internal pudendal veins are enclosed by pudendal canal, with internal pudendal artery and pudenda ...

and the

pudendal nerve The pudendal nerve is the main nerve of the perineum. It is a Mixed nerve, mixed (motor and sensory) nerve and also conveys Sympathetic nervous system, sympathetic Autonomic nervous system, autonomic fibers. It carries sensation from the exter ...

Branches

The internal pudendal artery gives off the following branches: The deep artery of clitoris is a branch of the internal pudendal artery and supplies the

clitoral crura The clitoral crura (: clitoral crus) are two erectile tissue structures, which together form a "V" shape. ''Crus'' is a Latin word that means "leg". Each "leg" of the ''V'' converges on the clitoral body. At each divergent point is a corpus ca ...

. Another branch of the internal pudendal artery is the dorsal artery of clitoris. Some sources consider the urethral artery a direct branch of the internal pudendal artery, while others consider it a branch of the

perineal artery The perineal artery (superficial perineal artery) arises from the internal pudendal artery, and turns upward, crossing either over or under the superficial transverse perineal muscle, and runs forward, parallel to the pubic arch, in the interspa ...

. In males, the internal pudendal artery also gives rise to the perforating arteries of the penis.

Variation

Around 70% of men have an accessory internal pudendal artery. This usually does not originate from the internal iliac artery, instead originating from the

external iliac artery The external iliac arteries are two major Artery, arteries which bifurcate off the common iliac arteries anterior to the sacroiliac joint of the pelvis. Structure The external iliac artery arises from the bifurcation of the common iliac arter ...

, 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 o ...

, or the

vesical arteries Vesical arteries are variable in number. They supply the bladder and terminal ureter. The two most prominent are the superior vesical artery and the inferior vesical artery. The superior vesical artery comes off of the internal iliac artery and some ...

Function

The internal pudendal artery supplies blood to the external genitalia.

Clinical significance

In women, the internal pudendal artery may be damaged during

childbirth Childbirth, also known as labour, parturition and delivery, is the completion of pregnancy, where one or more Fetus, fetuses exits the Womb, internal environment of the mother via vaginal delivery or caesarean section and becomes a newborn to ...

. This may cause a

haematoma A hematoma, also spelled haematoma, or blood suffusion is a localized bleeding outside of blood vessels, due to either disease or trauma including injury or surgery and may involve blood continuing to seep from broken capillaries. A hematoma is ...

, which usually resolves without treatment, but may form an infected

abscess An abscess is a collection of pus that has built up within the tissue of the body, usually caused by bacterial infection. Signs and symptoms of abscesses include redness, pain, warmth, and swelling. The swelling may feel fluid-filled when pre ...

Additional images

File:Gray236.png, Right hip bone. Internal surface. File:Gray829.png, Dissection of side wall of pelvis showing sacral and pudendal plexuses. File:Gray543.png, The deeper branches of the internal pudendal artery. File:Gray1158.png, Diagram of the arteries of the

penis A penis (; : penises or penes) is a sex organ through which male and hermaphrodite animals expel semen during copulation (zoology), copulation, and through which male placental mammals and marsupials also Urination, urinate. The term ''pen ...

. File:Gray588.png, The penis in transverse section, showing the blood vessels. File:Slide8khi.JPG, Internal pudendal artery. Deep dissection. Lateral view. File:Grant 1962 228.png, Diagram of the arteries of the

vulva In mammals, the vulva (: vulvas or vulvae) comprises mostly external, visible structures of the female sex organ, genitalia leading into the interior of the female reproductive tract. For humans, it includes the mons pubis, labia majora, lab ...

References

External links

* - "Inferior view of female perineum, branches of the internal pudendal artery." * - "Inferior view of female perineum, branches of the internal pudendal artery." * - "Branches of internal pudendal artery in the male perineum." * - "Sagittal view of the internal iliac artery and its branches in the female pelvis. " * - "Sagittal view of the internal iliac artery and its branches in the male pelvis. " * * * () * *
Diagram at MSU
{{DEFAULTSORT:Internal Pudendal Artery Arteries of the abdomen