EXTERNAL ILIAC ARTERY. 



431 



EXTERNAL ILIAC ARTERY. 



The external of the two arteries resulting from the division of the common 

 iliac forms a large continuous trunk, which extends downwards in the limb 

 as far as the lower border of the popliteus muscle ; but, for convenience of 

 description, it is named in successive parts of its course external iliac, 

 femoral, and popliteal. 



The external iliac artery, larger than the internal iliac artery, is placed 

 within the abdomen, and extends from the division of the common iliac to 

 the lower border of Poupart's ligament, where the vessel enters the thigh, 

 and is named femoral. Descending obliquely outwards, its course through 

 the abdominal cavity may be marked by a line drawn from the left side of 

 the umbilicus to a point midway between the anterior superior spinous 

 process of the ilium and the symphysis pubi*. This line would also indicate 

 the direction of the common iliac artery, from which the external iliac is 

 directly continued. 



The vessel is covered by the peritoneum and intestines. It lies along the 

 upper margin of the true pelvis, resting upon the inner border of the psoas 

 muscle. The artery, however, is separated from the muscle by the fascia 



Fig. 295. 



Fig. 295. VIEW OF 



THE PRINCIPAL AR- 

 TERIES AND THEIR 



DIVISIONS ON THE 

 EIGHT SIDE OF A 

 MALE PELVIS. 



For the detailed de- 

 scription of this figure 

 see Fig. 288, p. 419. 



2', the right external 

 iliac artery, accompa- 

 nied by the correspond- 

 ing vein 4', passing 

 below into the femoral 

 vessels under Poupart's 

 ligament ; 12, epi- 

 gastric artery winding 

 to the inside of + , + , 

 the spermatic cord ; 

 the epigastric artery is 

 cut short superiorly ; 

 13, circumflex iliac 

 artery anastomosing 

 with 15, branches of 

 the ilio-lumbar ; 14, 

 spermatic artery and 

 vein descending to join 

 the spermatic cord ; 

 + , within the pelvis, 

 the vas deferens de- 

 scending from the cord 

 towards the bladder. 



iliaca, to which it 

 is bound together 

 with the external iliac vein, by the subperitoneal tissue. 



