The superficial external pudendal artery (superficial external pudic 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 arises from the medial side of the
femoral artery
The femoral artery is a large artery in the thigh and the main arterial supply to the thigh and leg. The femoral artery gives off the deep femoral artery and descends along the anteromedial part of the thigh in the femoral triangle. It enters ...
, close to the
superficial epigastric artery and
superficial iliac circumflex artery.
Course and target
After piercing the
femoral sheath
The femoral sheath (also called the crural sheath) is a funnel-shaped downward extension of abdominal fascia within which the femoral artery and femoral vein pass between the abdomen and the thigh. The femoral sheath is subdivided by two vertica ...
and
fascia cribrosa, it courses medialward, across the
spermatic cord
The spermatic cord is the cord-like structure in males formed by the vas deferens (''ductus deferens'') and surrounding tissue that runs from the deep inguinal ring down to each testicle. Its serosal covering, the tunica vaginalis, is an exten ...
(or
round ligament 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 ...
), to be distributed to the integument on the lower part of the
abdomen
The abdomen (colloquially called the gut, belly, tummy, midriff, tucky, or stomach) is the front part of the torso between the thorax (chest) and pelvis in humans and in other vertebrates. The area occupied by the abdomen is called the abdominal ...
, the
scrotum
In most terrestrial mammals, the scrotum (: scrotums or scrota; possibly from Latin ''scortum'', meaning "hide" or "skin") or scrotal sac is a part of the external male genitalia located at the base of the penis. It consists of a sac of skin ...
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 ...
, and the
labium majus 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 ...
,
anastomosing with branches 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 ...
.
It crosses superficial to the inguinal ligament.
See also
*
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 ...
*
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 ...
Additional images
File:Gray580.png, The great saphenous vein and its tributaries at the fossa ovalis.
File:Gray584.png, The femoral vein and its tributaries.
File:Thigh arteries schema.svg, Schema of the arteries arising from the external iliac and femoral arteries.
File:Slide4Nemo.JPG, Anterior abdominal wall. Intermediate dissection. Anterior view
References
External links
* ()
Arteries of the lower limb
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