Vaginal artery

Last revised by Craig Hacking on 9 Dec 2021

The vaginal artery is a branch of the anterior division of the internal iliac artery, and should not to be mistaken with the vaginal branch of the uterine artery. It is often considered to be a homolog of the inferior vesical artery, which is present only in males.

Summary

  • origin: anterior division of the internal iliac artery
  • location: pelvis
  • supply: lower part of the vagina, vestibular bulb, rectum, fundus of bladder
  • branches: vaginal and inferior vesical branches

Gross anatomy

Origin

The vaginal artery originates from the anterior division of the internal iliac artery.

Branches

The vaginal artery gives vaginal and inferior vesical branches:

  • vaginal branch descends to the vagina, supplies it and can anastomose with the vaginal branch of the uterine artery
  • inferior vesical branch proceeds towards the fundus of the bladder
Supply

The vaginal artery supplies the lower portion of the vagina, the vestibular bulb, rectum and the fundus of the bladder. The upper part of the vagina is supplied by the uterine artery

 

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