Vaginal artery

Artery: Vaginal artery
Arteries of the female reproductive tract (posterior view): uterine artery, ovarian artery and vaginal arteries.
Vessels of the uterus and its appendages, rear view.
Latin	arteria vaginalis
Gray's	subject #155 616
Supplies	urinary bladder, ureter, vagina
Source	Internal iliac artery Uterine artery
Dorlands / Elsevier	a_61/12156498

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

The vaginal artery is an artery in females that supplies blood to the vagina.

Structure

The vaginal artery is usually a branch of the internal iliac artery. It descends to the vagina, supplying its mucous membrane. It can send branches to the bulb of the vestibule, the fundus of the bladder, and the contiguous part of the rectum.

Some texts consider the inferior vesical artery to be found only in males, and that this structure in females is a vaginal artery.

The vaginal artery is frequently represented by two or three branches.

See also

• Uterine artery

External links

• Vaginal+artery at eMedicine Dictionary
• SUNY Labs 43:13-0206 - "The Female Pelvis: Branches of Internal Iliac Artery"

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 As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated.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