Henry Gray (1825–1861). Anatomy of the Human Body. 1918.
pages 676
| The deep dorsal vein of the penis communicates with the internal pudendal veins, but ends mainly in the pudendal plexus. |
| 4. The Obturator Vein (v. obturatoria) begins in the upper portion of the adductor region of the thigh and enters the pelvis through the upper part of the obturator foramen. It runs backward and upward on the lateral wall of the pelvis below the obturator artery, and then passes between the ureter and the hypogastric artery, to end in the hypogastric vein. |
| 5. The Lateral Sacral Veins (vv. sacrales laterales) accompany the lateral sacral arteries on the anterior surface of the sacrum and end in the hypogastric vein. |
| 6. The Middle Hemorrhoidal Vein (v. hæmorrhoidalis media) takes origin in the hemorrhoidal plexus and receives tributaries from the bladder, prostate, and seminal vesicle; it runs lateralward on the pelvic surface of the Levator ani to end in the hypogastric vein. |
| The hemorrhoidal plexus (plexus hæmorrhoidalis) surrounds the rectum, and communicates in front with the vesical plexus in the male, and the uterovaginal plexus in the female. It consists of two parts, an internal in the submucosa, and an external outside the muscular coat. The internal plexus presents a series of dilated pouches which are arranged in a circle around the tube, immediately above the anal orifice, and are connected by transverse branches. |
| The lower part of the external plexus is drained by the inferior hemorrhoidal veins into the internal pudendal vein; the middle part by the middle hemorrhoidal vein which joins the hypogastric vein; and the upper part by the superior hemorrhoidal vein which forms the commencement of the inferior mesenteric vein, a tributary of the portal vein. A free communication between the portal and systemic venous systems is established through the hemorrhoidal plexus. |
| The veins of the hemorrhoidal plexus are contained in very loose, connective tissue, so that they get less support from surrounding structures than most other veins, and are less capable of resisting increased blood-pressure. |
| The pudendal plexus (plexus pudendalis; vesicoprostatic plexus) lies behind the arcuate public ligament and the lower part of the symphysis pubis, and in front of the bladder and prostate. Its chief tributary is the deep dorsal vein of the penis, but it also receives branches from the front of the bladder and prostate. It communicates with the vesical plexus and with the internal pudendal vein and drains into the vesical and hypogastric veins. The prostatic veins form a well-marked prostatic plexus which lies partly in the fascial sheath of the prostate and partly between the sheath and the prostatic capsule. It communicates with the pudendal and vesical plexuses. |
| The vesical plexus (plexus vesicalis) envelops the lower part of the bladder and the base of the prostate and communicates with the pudendal and prostatic plexuses. It is drained, by means of several vesical veins, into the hypogastric veins. |
| The Dorsal Veins of the Penis (vv. dorsales penis) are two in number, a superficial and a deep. The superficial vein drains the prepuce and skin of the penis, and, running backward in the subcutaneous tissue, inclines to the right or left, and opens into the corresponding superficial external pudendal vein, a tributary of the great saphenous vein. The deep vein lies beneath the deep fascia of the penis; it receives the blood from the glans penis and corpora cavernosa penis and courses backward in the middle line between the dorsal arteries; near the root of the penis it passes between the two parts of the suspensory ligament and then through an aperture between the arcuate pubic ligament and the transverse ligament of the pelvis, and divides into two branches, which enter the pudendal plexus. The deep vein also communicates below the symphysis pubis with the internal pudendal vein. |
| The uterine plexuses lie along the sides and superior angles of the uterus between the two layers of the broad ligament, and communicate with the ovarian and vaginal plexuses. They are drained by a pair of uterine veins on either side: these |