Variant branching pattern of the posterior division of internal iliac artery: a case report

Case Report Internal iliac artery (IIA) is a branch of the common iliac artery arising at the level of the lumbosacral intervertebral disc anterior to the sacroiliac joint. Obturator artery, a branch of the anterior division of the internal i l iac ar tery normally runs anteroinferiorly on the lateral pelvic wall to the upper part of the obturator foramen and leaves the pelvis via the obturator canal, where it divides into anterior and posterior branches to supply the medial compartment of the thigh (1). The anomalous origin of obturator artery has been documented in 41.4% of cases from the common iliac or anterior division of the internal iliac, in 25% from the inferior epigastric, in 10% from the superior gluteal, in 10% from inferior the gluteal/internal pudendal trunk, in 4.7% from the inferior gluteal, in 3.8% from the internal pudendal and in 1.1% from the external iliac artery (2). In very rare occasions, it may arise from the posterior division of the internal iliac artery (3). Inferior gluteal artery is a branch of the anterior division of the internal iliac artery and passes below the ventral ramus of the first sacral nerve, then between the piriformis and coccygeus and enter the gluteal region through the greater sciatic foramen. The origin of inferior gluteal artery from a common trunk with the superior gluteal artery is common but not from the posterior division of the internal iliac artery (1, 2).