Pelvic Vasculature: Overview

00:01 In this topic, we're going to look at the branches of the internal iliac artery.

00:07 So let's start off by reminding ourselves of the anatomy of the iliac artery and its branches.

00:14 So on the screen, we can see the abdominal aorta running down the lower aspect of the vertebral column within the abdomen.

00:22 And this blood vessel, as we know is going to bifurcate into the two common iliac arteries.

00:28 One going to the left and one going to the right hand side.

00:33 This occurs at approximately the intervertebral disc between L4, and L5.

00:39 Each of the common iliac arteries is then going to bifurcate into an external iliac artery.

00:45 This goes on to supply the lower limb.

00:48 And an internal iliac artery, which will supply the structures within the pelvis, but also give rise to another branch that will also go to the lower limb and we'll come to that in a moment or two.

00:59 So abdominal aorta bifurcates into two common iliac arteries which enter the pelvis and then that artery bifurcates into an external and internal iliac artery.

01:11 The internal iliac artery is then divided into posterior and anterior divisions.

01:16 Please check your course objectives to see if you need to know the branches of internal iliac artery organized in this way.

01:23 But for the purposes of this topic, it does help us to itemize and list those branches and what they supply by simplifying them into both anterior and posterior divisions which we can see.

01:34 So let's have a closer look at these branches.

01:37 So first of all, let's have a look at some paired arteries that come off the abdominal aorta.

01:43 Here we have the ovarian artery or the testicular artery, depending if you're a male or a female.

01:48 And these are emerging from the abdomen and passing down into the pelvis.

01:53 Here again, we have another paired artery, which is the internal iliac artery.

01:58 We have a series of unpaired arteries.

02:00 Here we have the superior rectal artery, which is coming down from the inferior mesenteric artery within the abdomen.

02:08 And we also have the median sacral artery.

02:10 We can see running down the midline of the pelvis.

02:13 So a series of paired and unpaired arteries coming away from the abdominal aorta and its associated branches.