564 THE BLOOD-VASCULAR SYSTEM. 



The vaginal artery is analogous to the inferior vesical in the male ; it descends 

 upon the vagina, supplying its mucous membrane, and sending branches to the 

 neck of the bladder and contiguous part of the rectum. It assists in forming the 

 azygos arteries of the vagina. 



Brandies to tube. 

 Branches to fundus. - -^i*^* "\J ""^^ // 



Ovarian artery. 

 Branch to round ligament. 



ROUND LIGAMENT. 



Uterine artery. 

 Arteries of cervix. 



Vaginal arteries. 

 FIG. 313. The arteries of the internal organs of generation of the female, seen from behind. (After Hyrtl.) 



The Obturator Artery usually arises from the anterior trunk of the internal 

 iliac ; frequently from' the posterior. It passes forward, below the brim of the 

 pelvis, to the upper part of the obturator foramen, and, escaping from the pelvic 

 cavity through a short canal formed by a groove on the under surface of the 

 ascending ramus of the os pubis and the arched border of the obturator membrane, 

 it divides into an internal and external branch. In the pelvic cavity this vessel 

 lies upon the pelvic fascia, beneath the peritoneum, and a little below the obtu- 

 rator nerve. 



Branches. Within the pelvis, the obturator artery gives off an iliac branch to 

 the iliac fossa, which supplies the bone and the Iliacus muscle, and anastomoses 

 with the ilio-lumbar artery ; a vesical branch, which runs backward to supply the 

 bladder; and a pubic branch, which is given off from the vessel just before it 

 leaves the pelvic cavity. This branch ascends upon the back of the os pubis, 

 communicating with offsets from the deep epigastric artery and with the corre- 

 sponding vessel of the opposite side. It is placed on the inner side of the femoral 

 ring. ^External to the pelvis, the obturator artery divides into an internal and an 

 external branch, which are deeply situated beneath the Obturator externus muscle. 



The internal branch curves downward along the inner margin of the obturator 

 foramen, lying beneath the Obturator externus muscle ; it distributes branches to 

 the Obturator externus, Pectineus, Adductors, and Gracilis, and anastomoses with 

 the external branch and with the internal circumflex artery. 



The external branch curves round the outer margin of the foramen, also lying 

 beneath the Obturator externus muscle, to the space between the Gemellus inferior 

 and Quadrat us femoris, where it divides into two branches : one, the smaller, courses 

 inward around the lower margin of the foramen and anastomoses with the internal 

 branch and with the internal circumflex ; the other inclines outward in the groove 



