196 ANATOMY FOR NURSES [Chap. XI 



lower down than that of the left. Each is directed outward, so 

 as to form nearly a ri<;ht angle with the aorta. 



(e) The supra-renal arteries are of small size. They arise from 

 the side of the aorta, a little above the superior mesenteric. They 

 supply the supra-renal or adrenal bodies. (See page 316.) 



(/) The spermatic arteries in the male arise close together from 

 the front of the aorta, a little below the renal arteries. They 

 are distributed to the testes, 



(g) The ovarian arteries in the female arise from the same por- 

 tion of the aorta as the spermatic arteries in the male. They 

 supply the ovaries, and, joined to the uterine artery, — a branch 

 of the internal iliac, — also assist in supplying the uterus. Dur- 

 ing pregnancy the ovarian arteries become considerably enlarged. 



Parietal group : — 



(a) The phrenic arteries arise from the aorta above the coeliac 

 axis and are distributed to the diaphragm. 



(6) The lumbar arteries arise from the aorta, and the various 

 branches, dorsal, spinal, and abdominal, supply the muscles and 

 walls of the respective regions that their names suggest. 



(c) The middle sacral artery arises from the lower end of the 

 abdominal aorta and passes down to the sacrum and coccyx. 



Common iliac. — The common iliac arteries, commencing at the 

 bifurcation of the aorta, pass downward and outward about two 

 inches (50 mm.), and then each divides into the internal (or 

 hypogastric) and the external iliac arteries. 



The internal iliac artery (or hypogastric) supplies branches 

 to the pelvic walls, j)elvic viscera, the external genitals and 

 the buttocks. The uterine artery in the female which supplies 

 the tissues of the uterus with blood is a very important branch 

 of the internal iliac. 



The external iliac is placed within the abdomen, and extends 

 from the bifurcation of the common iliac to the lower border of 

 the inguinal ligament, where it enters the thigh and is named 

 femoral. 



The external iliac artery forms a large, continuous trunk, which 

 extends downward in the lower limb, and is named in successive 

 parts of its course femoral, popliteal, and posterior tibial. 



The femoral artery lies in the upper three-fourths of the thigh, 

 its limits being marked above by the inguinal (Poupart's) liga- 



