External iliac artery
| Artery: External iliac artery | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Bifurcation of the aorta and the right iliac arteries - side view. (External iliac artery is artery at upper left, seen splitting from common iliac artery at top.) | |
 | |
| The relations of the femoral and abdominal inguinal rings, seen from within the abdomen. Right side. (External iliac artery is large artery at center, and inguinal ligament runs from upper right to lower left. When the artery crosses the ligament, it becomes the femoral artery.) | |
| Latin | arteria iliaca externa |
| Gray's | subject #156 622 |
| Source | common iliac arteries |
| Branches | femoral arteries, inferior epigastric arteries |
| Vein | external iliac veins |
| Dorlands / Elsevier |
a_61/12154552 |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
The external iliac artery is a large artery in the pelvic region that carries blood to the lower limb.
The external iliac artery is a paired artery, meaning there is one on each side of the body: a right external iliac artery and left external iliac artery.
The external iliac artery arises from the bifurcation of the common iliac artery. It travels inferiorly, anteriorly, and laterally, making its ways to the lower limb:
| Branch | Description |
| Inferior epigastric artery | Goes upward to anastomose with superior epigastric artery (a branch of internal thoracic artery). |
| Deep circumflex iliac artery | Goes laterally, travelling along the iliac crest of the pelvic bone. |
| femoral artery | Terminal branch. When the external iliac artery passes posterior to the inguinal ligament, its name changes to femoral artery. |
The external iliac artery is accompanied by the external iliac vein, which is located posterior to the artery.
Additional images
The internal mammary artery and its branches.
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.
The spermatic cord in the inguinal canal.
Front of abdomen, showing surface markings for arteries and inguinal canal.
See also
External links
- Gray's s157 - "The arteries of the lower extremity"
- Gray's s173 - "The veins of the lower extremity, abdomen, and pelvis"
- SUNY Labs 43:12-0104 - "The Female Pelvis: The External and Internal Iliac Vessels"
- SUNY Figs 43:07-05 - "Sagittal view of the internal iliac artery and its branches in the female pelvis. "
- SUNY Anatomy Image 8970
- Norman/Georgetown pelvis (pelvicarteries)
- Hypogastric artery - thefreedictionary.com
Arteries of torso - abdomen | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AA: Anterior |
| ||||||
| AA: Posterior | visceral: middle suprarenal – renal (inferior suprarenal) – testicular/ovarianparietal: inferior phrenic (superior suprarenal) – lumbar – median sacral terminal: common iliac (IIA, EIA) | ||||||
| IIA: Anterior |
(superior vesical,
to ductus deferens) –
inferior vesical –
middle rectal –
uterine
(azygos of the vagina) –
vaginal –
obturator
(anterior branch,
posterior branch) –
internal pudendal
(inferior rectal,
perineal,
artery of the urethral bulb,
urethral,
deep artery of the penis,
dorsal artery of the penis) –
inferior gluteal
(accompanying of ischiadic nerve,
crucial anastomosis)
| ||||||
| IIA: Posterior | |||||||
| EIA | |||||||
List of arteries of lower limbs | |
|---|---|
| EI: Femoral | superficial epigastric - superficial iliac circumflex
external pudendal: superficial - deep (anterior scrotal) profunda femoris: lateral circumflex femoral (descending, transverse, ascending) - medial circumflex femoral (ascending, superficial, deep, acetabular) - perforating descending genicular (saphenous branch, articular branches) |
| Popliteal | sural genicular: superior genicular (medial, lateral) - middle genicular - inferior genicular (medial, lateral) |
| Anterior tibial | tibial recurrent (posterior, anterior)
anterior malleolar (medial, lateral) dorsalis pedis: tarsal (medial, lateral) |
| Posterior tibial | circumflex fibular - fibular medial plantar - lateral plantar |
| Arches | arcuate: dorsal metatarsal/first dorsal metatarsal - deep plantar - dorsal digital arteries plantar arch: plantar metatarsal - common plantar digital - proper plantar digital |
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