Internal iliac artery

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Artery: Internal iliac

Front of abdomen, showing surface markings for arteries and inguinal canal.

Latin	arteria iliaca interna
Gray's	subject #155 614
Source	Common iliac artery
Branches	iliolumbar artery, lateral sacral artery, superior gluteal artery, inferior gluteal artery, middle rectal artery, uterine artery, obturator artery, inferior vesical artery, superior vesical artery, obliterated umbilical artery, internal pudendal artery
Vein	Internal iliac vein
MeSH	Iliac+Artery
Dorlands/Elsevier	a_61/12154560

The internal iliac artery (formerly known as the hypogastric artery) is the main artery of the pelvis.

1 Structure
2 Collateral Circulation
3 Additional images
4 See also
5 External links

The internal iliac artery supplies the walls and viscera of the pelvis, the buttock, the reproductive organs, and the medial compartment of the thigh.

It is a short, thick vessel, smaller than the external iliac artery, and about 4 cm in length.

It arises at the bifurcation of the common iliac artery, opposite the lumbosacral articulation (L5/S1 intervertebral disc), and, passing downward to the upper margin of the greater sciatic foramen, divides into two large trunks, an anterior and a posterior.

The following are relations of the artery at various points: it is posterior to the ureter, anterior to the internal iliac vein, the lumbosacral trunk, and the piriformis muscle; near its origin, it is medial to the external iliac vein, which lies between it and the psoas major muscle; it is above the obturator nerve.

The exact arrangement of branches of the internal iliac artery is variable. Generally, the artery divides into an anterior division and a posterior division, with the posterior division giving rise to the superior gluteal, iliolumbar, and lateral sacral arteries. The rest usually arise from the anterior division.

The following are the branches of internal iliac artery. Because it is variable, a listed artery may not be a direct branch, but instead might arise off a direct branch.

Division	Branch	Sub-branches	To/through
Posterior	Iliolumbar artery	lumbar and iliac branches	psoas major muscle, quadratus lumborum muscle, iliacus muscle
Posterior	Lateral sacral arteries	superior and inferior branches	anterior sacral foramina
Posterior	Superior gluteal artery	-	greater sciatic foramen
Anterior	Obturator artery (occasionally from inferior epigastric artery)	-	obturator canal
Anterior	Inferior gluteal artery	-	greater sciatic foramen
Anterior	Umbilical artery	superior vesical artery (usually, but sometimes it branches directly from anterior trunk)	medial umbilical ligament
Anterior	Uterine artery (females) or deferential artery (males)	superior and vaginal branches	uterus, vas deferens
Anterior	Vaginal artery (females, can also arise from uterine artery) or inferior vesical artery (males)	-	vagina, urinary bladder
Anterior	Middle rectal artery	-	rectum
Anterior	Internal pudendal artery	many branches - see article for details	greater sciatic foramen

Internal iliac artery and branches, except for iliolumbar artery, umbilical artery, uterine artery/deferential artery and vaginal artery/inferior vesical artery.

In the fetus, the internal iliac artery is twice as large as the external iliac, and is the direct continuation of the common iliac.

It ascends along the side of the bladder, and runs upward on the back of the anterior wall of the abdomen to the umbilicus, converging toward its fellow of the opposite side.

Having passed through the umbilical opening, the two arteries, now termed umbilical, enter the umbilical cord, where they are coiled around the umbilical vein, and ultimately ramify in the placenta.

At birth, when the placental circulation ceases, the pelvic portion only of the umbilical artery remains patent gives rise to the superior vesical artery (or arteries) of the adult; the remainder of the vessel is converted into a solid fibrous cord, the medial umbilical ligament (otherwise known as the obliterated hypogastric artery) which extends from the pelvis to the umbilicus.

In two-thirds of a large number of cases, the length of the internal iliac varied between 2.25 and 3.4 cm.; in the remaining third it was more frequently longer than shorter, the maximum length being about 7 cm. the minimum about 1 cm.

The lengths of the common iliac and internal iliac arteries bear an inverse proportion to each other, the internal iliac artery being long when the common iliac is short, and vice versa.

The place of division of the internal iliac artery varies between the upper margin of the sacrum and the upper border of the greater sciatic foramen.

The right and left hypogastric arteries in a series of cases often differed in length, but neither seemed constantly to exceed the other.

The circulation after ligature of the internal iliac artery is carried on by the anastomoses of:

the uterine artery and the ovarian artery (females)
the vesical arteries (superior vesical artery and inferior vesical artery) of the two sides
the middle rectal artery and the superior rectal artery
the obturator artery (by means of its pubic branch) with the vessel of the opposite side, and with the inferior epigastric artery and medial circumflex femoral artery
the circumflex and perforating branches of the profunda femoris with the inferior gluteal artery
the superior gluteal artery with the posterior branches of the lateral sacral arteries
the iliolumbar artery with the last lumbar artery
the lateral sacral arteries with the median sacral artery
the superficial iliac circumflex artery with the iliolumbar artery and superior gluteal artery.

Bifurcation of the aorta and the right iliac arteries - side view.	Dissection of side wall of pelvis showing sacral and pudendal plexuses.	Sacral plexus of the right side.	Posterior view of the anterior abdominal wall in its lower half. The peritoneum is in place, and the various cords are shining through.
Posterior abdominal wall, after removal of the peritoneum, showing kidneys, suprarenal capsules, and great vessels.	The arteries of the internal organs of generation of the female, seen from behind.

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.

v • d • e

List of arteries of torso - abdomen

AA:
Anterior

celiac	left gastric: esophageal branches splenic: pancreatic branches (greater, dorsal) – short gastric – left gastro-omental common hepatic: proper hepatic (cystic), right gastric, gastroduodenal (right gastro-omental, superior pancreaticoduodenal, supraduodenal)
SMA	inferior pancreaticoduodenal – intestinal (jejunal, ileal, arcades, vasa recta) – ileocolic (colic, anterior cecal, posterior cecal, ileal branch, appendicular) – right colic – middle colic
IMA	left colic – sigmoid – superior rectal – marginal