Median sacral artery
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Artery: Median sacral artery | |
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The abdominal aorta and its branches. (Middle sacral visible at center bottom.) | |
The arteries of the pelvis. (Middle sacral labeled at upper right.) | |
Latin | arteria sacralis mediana |
Gray's | subject #154 613 |
Supplies | coccyx, lumbar vertebrae, sacrum |
Source | abdominal aorta |
Vein | Median sacral vein |
Dorlands/Elsevier | a_61/12155748 |
The median sacral artery (or middle sacral artery) is a small vessel, which arises from the back of the aorta, a little above its bifurcation.
It descends in the middle line in front of the fourth and fifth lumbar vertebræ, the sacrum and coccyx, and ends in the glomus coccygeum (coccygeal gland).
From it, minute branches are said to pass to the posterior surface of the rectum.
On the last lumbar vertebra it anastomoses with the lumbar branch of the iliolumbar artery; in front of the sacrum it anastomoses with the lateral sacral arteries, and sends offsets into the anterior sacral foramina.
It is crossed by the left common iliac vein, and is accompanied by a pair of venæ comitantes; these unite to form a single vessel, which opens into the left common iliac vein.
[edit] See also
[edit] Additional images
[edit] External links
- SUNY Labs 40:11-0200 - "Posterior Abdominal Wall: Branches of the Abdominal Aorta"
- Norman/Georgetown pelvis (pelvicarteries)
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 As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated.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.