Obturator artery

Obturator artery
The relations of the femoral and abdominal inguinal rings , seen from within the abdomen. Right side. (Obturator artery is visible at bottom.)
Internal iliac artery and some branches.
Details
Source	Internal iliac artery
Branches	anterior branch and posterior branch
Vein	Obturator veins
Supplies	Obturator externus muscle, medial compartment of thigh, femur
Identifiers
Latin	Arteria obturatoria
Dorlands /Elsevier	a_61/12155276
TA	A12.2.15.008
FMA	18865
Anatomical terminology []

The obturator artery is a branch of the internal iliac artery that passes antero-inferiorly (forwards and downwards) on the lateral wall of the pelvis, to the upper part of the obturator foramen, and, escaping from the pelvic cavity through the obturator canal, it divides into both an anterior and a posterior branch.

In the pelvic cavity this vessel is in relation, laterally, with the obturator fascia; medially, with the ureter, ductus deferens, and peritoneum; while a little below it is the obturator nerve.

Inside the pelvis the obturator artery gives off iliac branches to the iliac fossa, which supply the bone and the Iliacus, and anastomose 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.

The pubic branch ascends upon the back of the pubis, communicating with the corresponding vessel of the opposite side, and with the inferior epigastric artery.

After passing through the obturator canal and outside of the pelvis, the obturator artery divides at the upper margin of the obturator foramen, into an anterior branch and a posterior branch of the obturator artery which encircle the foramen under cover of the obturator externus.

The anterior branch of the obturator artery is a small artery in the thigh and runs forward on the outer surface of the obturator membrane and then curves downward along the anterior margin of the obturator foramen.