Common iliac artery

Artery: Common iliac artery
Front of abdomen, showing surface markings for arteries and inguinal canal.
Bifurcation of the aorta and the right iliac arteries - side view. Hypogastric artery is an old term for internal iliac artery. (Com. iliac. a. is visible at center bottom left.)
Latin	arteria iliaca communis
Gray's	subject #155 613
Source	abdominal aorta
Branches	external iliac internal iliac
Vein	common iliac veins

The common iliac arteries are two large arteries, that originate from the aortic bifurcation at the level of the fourth lumbar vertebra and bifurcate into the external iliac artery and internal iliac artery .

They are about 4cm long in adults and more than a centimetre in diameter. The arteries run inferolaterally, along the medial border of the psoas muscles to their bifurcation at the pelvic brim, in front of the sacroiliac joints.

The common iliac artery, and all of its branches, exist as paired structures (that is to say, there is one on the left side and one on the right).

The distribution of the common iliac artery is basically the pelvis and lower limb (as the femoral artery) on the corresponding side.

Relations

Both common iliac arteries are accompanied along their course by common iliac veins which lie posteriorly and to the right. Their terminal bifurcation is crossed anteriorly by the ureters.

Additional images

The abdominal aorta and its branches.	Deep and superficial dissection of the lumbar plexus.	Dissection of side wall of pelvis showing sacral and pudendal plexuses.	Sacral plexus of the right side.
Abdominal portion of the sympathetic trunk, with the celiac and hypogastric plexuses.	Lower half of right sympathetic cord.	Transverse section of human embryo eight and a half to nine weeks old.	Posterior abdominal wall, after removal of the peritoneum, showing kidneys, suprarenal capsules, and great vessels.
Iliac veins

External links

• Gray's s157 - "The arteries of the lower extremity"
• Gray's s173 - "The veins of the lower extremity, abdomen, and pelvis"
• Hypogastric artery - thefreedictionary.com
• Atlas of anatomy at UMich abdo_wall75 - "The Abdominal Aorta"
• SUNY Labs 40:09-0102 - "Posterior Abdominal Wall: The Abdominal Aorta and Paraaortic Nerve Plexus"
• SUNY Anatomy Image 8969