Internal Pudendal Artery
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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 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 internal iliac artery. 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. It travels through the pudendal canal with the internal pudendal veins 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. 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, or the vesical arteries.


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, 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 ...
.


See also

*
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 ...
* Superficial external pudendal artery *
Deep external pudendal artery The deep external pudendal artery (deep external pudic artery) is one of the pudendal arteries that is more deeply seated than the superficial external pudendal artery, passes medially across the pectineus and the adductor longus muscles; it i ...


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