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804 THE VASCULAR SYSTEM. 
descends into the pelvis, to terminate, as a rule, opposite the upper border of the 
ereat sciatic notch, in two divisions—anterior and posterior—from each of which 
branches of distribution are given off. The artery measures about one and a_ half 
inches in length, and is the inner of the two terminal branches of the common 
iliac artery. 
Relations. Anterior.—The artery on each side is covered in front and internally 
by peritoneum, under which the corresponding ureter descends along the anterior border 
of the artery. The rectum crosses from the front to the inner side of the left artery, 
and the terminal part of the ileum bears the same relation to the right artery. 
Posterior to it are the internal iliac vein and the commencement of the common iliae 
vein; behind these is the lumbo-sacral cord and the sacrum. 
Lateral.—On its outer side the external iliac vein separates it from the psoas muscle 
Ureterizss Sympathetic cord 
Internal iliac artery \\ \ 
\\ \ Jateral sacral artery 
Internal iliac vein 
Lateral sacral artery — 
External iliac artery — 
External iliac vein ———— a -Gluteal artery 
i soas muscle __Seiatic artery 
Hypogastrie artery _\ 
Deep circumflex iliac 
artery 
Superior vesical artery 
Obturator vein 
Deep epigastric artery 
Round ligament —— 
Obturator nerve —— 
Obturator artery ——— 
Internal pudie 
artery 
Sacral plexus 
Dorsal artery of clitoris —— 
Artery to corpus 
cavernosum. 
Fie. 569.—THE INTERNAL ILIAC ARTERY AND ITS BRANCHES IN THE FEMALE. 
1. Great sacro-sciatic ligament. 6. Dorsal nerve of clitoris. 
2. Uterine artery 7. Internal pudie artery. 
3. Vaginal artery. 8. Perineal nerve. 
4. Inferior hemorrhoidal nerve. 9. Superficial perineal artery. 
5. Inferior hemorrhoidal artery. 10. Artery to bulb. 
above, whilst below this is the obturator nerve, embedded in a mass of fat which intervenes 
between the internal iliac artery and the side wall of the pelvis. On its inner side it is 
crossed by some of the tributaries of the internal iliac vein, and is covered by peritoneum. 
Branches.—The internal iliac artery supplies the greater part of the pelvic 
wall and viscera, and its branches are also distributed to the buttock and thigh 
and to the external organs of generation. 
All the branches may be given off separately from a single undivided parent 
trunk, but as a rule they arise in two groups corresponding to the two divisions in 
which the artery under these circumstances appears to end. 
