- Discussion:
- artery arises from the internal iliac artery in the pelvis;
- in the pelvis, it sends a branch to the obturator internus muscle;
- as vessels emerge from obturator canal, they divide into anterior and posterior branches that, instead of
continuing down thigh, circle obturator foramen;
- supplies obturator externus muscle and the adjacent bone;
- posterior branch of obturator artery usually provides an acetabular branch that enters the acetabular notch and
supplies tissue in the acetabular fossa;
- it usually gives rise to the artery in the ligament of the head of femur;
- see
blood supply to femoral head;
-
corona mortis
- refers to communication between either the external iliac (or deep epigastric vessels) and the obturator vessels which can occur in 10-15%;
Illustrated Encyclopedia of Human Anatomic Variation: Obturator Artery
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