Internal iliac artery (left) (Arteria iliaca interna)

Layer: Vessels

Educational content only — not medical advice.

Anatomy

The mother tree of the pelvis: a posterior trunk (superior gluteal, iliolumbar, lateral sacral) and an anterior trunk (vesical, obturator, middle rectal, uterine/vaginal or inferior vesical, inferior gluteal, internal pudendal) supplying bladder, rectum, genitals and gluteal muscles.

Clinical notes

Internal iliac ligation controls catastrophic pelvic haemorrhage after birth or trauma; post-prostatectomy pseudoaneurysm bleeds recurrent haematuria, and its pudendal branch anchors perineal surgery.

Related structures

Educational references

FAQ

What is the role of the Internal iliac artery (left)?

The mother tree of the pelvis: a posterior trunk (superior gluteal, iliolumbar, lateral sacral) and an anterior trunk (vesical, obturator, middle rectal, uterine/vaginal or inferior vesical, inferior gluteal, internal pudendal) supplying bladder, rectum, genitals and gluteal muscles.

Why is the Internal iliac artery (left) clinically important?

Internal iliac ligation controls catastrophic pelvic haemorrhage after birth or trauma; post-prostatectomy pseudoaneurysm bleeds recurrent haematuria, and its pudendal branch anchors perineal surgery.

Source & license

BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science licensed under CC Attribution 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). license details