Surgically Important Giant Obturator Artery, its Variant Distribution and Other Associated Vascular Variations in a Male Pelvis

Abstract

Knowledge of variations of obturator artery is of importance during many surgical procedures of the pelvis both in male and females. Here, an extremely rare variation of obturator artery and other associated vascular variations of the pelvis are presented. These variations were noted in the right pelvic half of an adult male cadaver. The obturator artery was huge and is divided into two divisions. The lateral division accompanied the obturator nerve and vein and entered the medial compartment of the thigh by passing through the obturator foramen. The medial division gave two vesical branches, which divided and formed a tuft of arteries near the lateral side of the neck of the bladder. It also gave a slender branch, which entered the obturator foramen along with the main obturator neurovascular bundle. The medial division gave a prostatic and a penile branch. The penile branch entered the crus of the penis as the deep artery of the penis. Further the inferior gluteal and internal pudendal arteries arose through a common trunk, which divided into terminal branches in the gluteal region, below the piriformis muscle.

Keywords

• Obturator hernia
• Gluteal region
• Iliac arteries