Median sacral artery

Artery: Median sacral artery
The abdominal aorta and its branches. (Middle sacral visible at center bottom.)
The arteries of the pelvis. (Middle sacral labeled at upper right.)
Latin	arteria sacralis mediana
Gray's	subject #154 613
Supplies	coccyx, lumbar vertebrae, sacrum
Source	abdominal aorta
Vein	Median sacral vein

The median sacral artery (or middle sacral artery) is a small vessel, which arises from the back of the aorta, a little above its bifurcation.

It descends in the middle line in front of the fourth and fifth lumbar vertebræ, the sacrum and coccyx, and ends in the glomus coccygeum (coccygeal gland).

From it, minute branches are said to pass to the posterior surface of the rectum.

On the last lumbar vertebra it anastomoses with the lumbar branch of the iliolumbar artery; in front of the sacrum it anastomoses with the lateral sacral arteries, and sends offsets into the anterior sacral foramina.

It is crossed by the left common iliac vein, and is accompanied by a pair of venæ comitantes; these unite to form a single vessel, which opens into the left common iliac vein.

See also

• Lateral sacral artery

Additional images

• 

  The iliac veins.

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  Scheme of the anastomosis of the veins of the rectum.

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  The relations of the viscera and large vessels of the abdomen.

External links

• SUNY Labs 40:11-0200 - "Posterior Abdominal Wall: Branches of the Abdominal Aorta"
• pelvis at The Anatomy Lesson by Wesley Norman (Georgetown University) (pelvicarteries)

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained within it may be outdated.