Lumbar and Internal spermatic artery

LUMBAR AND INTERNAL SPERMATIC ARTERIES

Lumbar arteries

  • Parietal paired. These arise in series with aortic intercostal arteries and are similar in origin and distribution.
  • There are 6 pairs of lumbar arteries. Of which, the first arise from the aorta and sixth arises from the internal iliac artery.
  • They arises from the dorsal face of the aorta, pass across the bodies of lumbar vertebrae gain the intertransverse spaces and divides into dorsal and ventral branches.
  • The dorsal or lumbo-spinal branches are larger.
  • They supply spinal branches to reinforce the ventral spinal artery and muscular branches to supply the muscles of the loins.
  • The ventral branches supply the abdominal muscles and skin.

Internal spermatic arteries

  • Visceral paired. In the male, these arteries arise from the ventral face of the aorta close together near the posterior mesenteric artery.
  • Each very slender and is the longest branch.
  • It is at first directed downwards, backwards and outwards reaches the internal inguinal canal as one of the constituent structures of the spermatic cord in its anterior border exhibiting a remarkable tortuous disposition.
  • It forms numerous coils surrounded by the pampiniform plexus of veins and closely associated with the spermatic nerves and lymphatics and unstriped muscle fibresl.
  • It passes out of the external abdominal ring reaches the head of the epididymis passes along its attached border turns upwards at the ventral extremity of the testicle and passes along its anterior border.
  • The branches penetrate the tunica albuginea and supply the parenchyma. Each spermatic artery varies in origin.
  • It may arise from the posterior mesenteric or renal or the two may have a common trunk.
  • In the female this vessel is the utero-ovarian artery.
  • It is slender vessel, which passes backwards in the anterior part of the broad ligament of the uterus and divides into ovarian and anterior uterine branches to the ovary and the horn of the uterus.
  • The latter anastomoses with the branches of the middle uterine artery.
Last modified: Wednesday, 2 May 2012, 7:25 AM