The vaginal artery is an artery in females that supplies blood to the vagina and the base of the bladder.
Video Vaginal artery
Terminology
The vaginal artery is usually defined as a branch of the internal iliac artery.
Some sources say that the vaginal artery can arise from the internal iliac artery or the uterine artery. However, the phrase vaginal branches of uterine artery is the Terminologia Anatomica term for blood supply to the vagina coming from the uterine artery.
Some texts consider the inferior vesical artery to be found only in males, and that this structure in females is a vaginal artery.
Maps Vaginal artery
Structure
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.
The vaginal artery is frequently represented by two or three branches.
See also
- Uterine artery
References
This article incorporates text in the public domain from page 616 of the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)
External links
- Anatomy photo:43:13-0206 at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center - "The Female Pelvis: Branches of Internal Iliac Artery"
Source of the article : Wikipedia