The artery of the round ligament of the uterus, also known as Sampson's artery, is a branch of the

inferior epigastric artery In human anatomy, the inferior epigastric artery is an artery that arises from the external iliac artery. It is accompanied by the inferior epigastric vein; inferiorly, these two inferior epigastric vessels together travel within the lateral um ...

. It runs under, and supplies, the

round ligament of the uterus The round ligament of the uterus is a ligament that connects the uterus to the labia majora. It originates at the junction of the uterus and uterine tube. It passes through the inguinal canal to insert at the labium majus. The two round ligamen ...

. It constitutes an

anastomosis An anastomosis (, : 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 (su ...

of the

uterine artery The uterine artery is an artery that supplies blood to the uterus in females. Structure The uterine artery usually arises from the anterior division of the internal iliac artery. It travels to the uterus, crossing the ureter anteriorly, to the ut ...

and

ovarian artery The ovarian artery is an artery that supplies oxygenated blood to the ovary in females. It arises from the abdominal aorta below the renal artery. It can be found within the suspensory ligament of the ovary, anterior to the ovarian vein and urete ...

. It was originally named after

John A. Sampson John Albertson Sampson (August 17, 1873–December 23, 1946) was a gynecologist who studied endometriosis. Sampson was born near Troy, New York and graduated from Johns Hopkins in 1899. After completing his training in gynecology, he settl ...

(1873–1946), an American gynecologist who studied

endometriosis Endometriosis is a disease in which Tissue (biology), tissue similar to the endometrium, the lining of the uterus, grows in other places in the body, outside the uterus. It occurs in women and a limited number of other female mammals. Endomet ...

Clinical significance

It is considered an insignificant artery that is dissected during hysterectomies. It can be the source of

hemoperitoneum Hemoperitoneum (also haemoperitoneum, sometimes also hematoperitoneum) is the presence of blood in the peritoneal cavity. The blood accumulates in the space between the inner lining of the abdominal wall and the internal abdominal organs. Hemope ...

, but only rarely does it pose a hemodynamic risk to the patient if severed and it is easily cauterized or sutured to prevent bleeding.

References

Arteries of the abdomen {{cardiovascular-stub