Blood supply of the male pelvis (English)

At the level of the sacroiliac joint, the bilateral common iliac artery bifurcates into the external and internal iliac arteries. The external iliac artery courses towards the thigh to continue as the femoral artery, whereas the internal iliac artery courses towards the greater sciatic foramen and gives off multiple branches to supply the pelvic wall and organs. These can be divided into an anterior and a posterior division. Branches of the posterior division are the iliolumbar, superior gluteal and lateral sacral arteries. The anterior division gives off the obturator, umbilical, superior and inferior vesical, internal pudendal, middle [ano]rectal and inferior gluteal arteries. The veins of the male pelvis collect blood from the urogenital organs and the rectum and drain into the internal iliac vein (or inferior mesenteric vein in the case of the superior [ano]rectal vein). From the internal iliac vein, the blood is transported to the common iliac vein and from there into the inferior vena cava. The right and left testicular veins drain directly to the inferior vena cava and left renal vein, respectively.