Superficial epigastric artery

Artery: Superficial epigastric artery
Scheme of the femoral artery. (Superior epigastric visible at upper left.)
The left femoral triangle. (Superior epigastric vesseles labeled at center top.)
Latin	a. epigastrica superficialis
Gray's	subject #157 629
Source	femoral artery
Vein	Superficial epigastric vein
MeSH	Epigastric+arteries
Dorlands / Elsevier	a_61/12154229

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

The superficial epigastric artery arises from the front of the femoral artery about 1 cm below the inguinal ligament, and, passing through the femoral sheath and the fascia cribrosa, turns upward in front of the inguinal ligament, and ascends between the two layers of the superficial fascia of the abdominal wall nearly as far as the umbilicus.

It distributes branches to the superficial subinguinal lymph glands, the superficial fascia, and the integument; it anastomoses with branches of the inferior epigastric, and with its fellow of the opposite side.

Additional images

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  The subcutaneous inguinal ring.

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  The femoral artery.

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  The great saphenous vein and its tributaries at the fossa ovalis.

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  The great saphenous vein and its tributaries.

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  The femoral vein and its tributaries.

External links

• SUNY Labs 35:02-0100 - "Anterior Abdominal Wall: Blood Vessels in the Superficial Fascia"
• SUNY Anatomy Image 7131
• SUNY Anatomy Image 7280

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 As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated.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.