Internal iliac artery

The internal iliac artery (formerly known as the hypogastric artery) is the main artery of the pelvis.The typical exampleVolume rendered CT scan of abdominal and pelvic blood vessels.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.Male hypogastric arteryFemale hypogastric arteryLumbar and sacral plexus. Deep dissection. Anterior view.Lumbar and sacral plexus. Deep dissection. Anterior view.Lumbar and sacral plexus. Deep dissection. Anterior view.Pelvic contents: male. Superior view. Deep dissection.Hypogastric vesselsInternal iliac arteriesLumbar and sacral plexus. Deep dissection.Anterior view. The internal iliac artery (formerly known as the hypogastric artery) is the main artery of the pelvis. The internal iliac artery supplies the walls and viscera of the pelvis, the buttock, the reproductive organs, and the medial compartment of the thigh. The vesicular branches of the internal iliac arteries supply the bladder It is a short, thick vessel, smaller than the external iliac artery, and about 3 to 4 cm in length. It arises at the bifurcation of the common iliac artery, opposite the lumbosacral articulation, 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.