Henry Gray (1825–1861). Anatomy of the Human Body. 1918.
pages 616
| the hypogastric and runs medialward on the Levator ani and toward the cervix uteri; about 2 cm. from the cervix it crosses above and in front of the ureter, to which it supplies a small branch. Reaching the side of the uterus it ascends in a tortuous manner between the two layers of the broad ligament to the junction of the uterine tube and uterus. It then runs lateralward toward the hilus of the ovary, and ends by joining with the ovarian artery. It supplies branches to the cervix uteri and others which descend on the vagina; the latter anastomose with branches of the vaginal arteries and form with them two median longitudinal vessels—the azygos arteries of the vagina—one of which runs down in front of and the other behind the vagina. It supplies numerous branches to the body of the uterus, and from its terminal portion twigs are distributed to the uterine tube and the round ligament of the uterus. |
| The vaginal artery (a. vaginalis) usually corresponds to the inferior vesical in the male; it descends upon the vagina, supplying its mucous membrane, and sends branches to the bulb of the vestibule, the fundus of the bladder, and the contiguous part of the rectum. It assists in forming the azygos arteries of the vagina, and is frequently represented by two or three branches. |
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FIG. 540– The arteries of the internal organs of generation of the female, seen from behind. (After Hyrtl.) (See enlarged image) |
| The obturator artery (a. obturatoria) passes forward and downward on the lateral wall of the pelvis, to the upper part of the obturator foramen, and, escaping from the pelvic cavity through the obturator canal, it divides into an anterior and a posterior branch. In the pelvic cavity this vessel is in relation, laterally, with the obturator fascia; medially, with the ureter, ductus deferens, and peritoneum; while a little below it is the obturator nerve. |
Branches.—Inside the pelvis the obturator artery gives off iliac branches to the iliac fossa, which supply the bone and the Iliacus, and anastomose with the ilio-lumbar artery; a vesical branch, which runs backward to supply the bladder; and a public branch, which is given off from the vessel just before it leaves the pelvic cavity. The pubic branch ascends upon the back of the pubis, communicating |