A study of the arterial blood supply to the penis

Abstract

Two arterial systems contribute to the blood supply of the penis. The deeper system, responsible for supplying the erectile tissues, arises from the internal pudendal arteries (a. pudendae internae), or sometimes from an accessory internal artery. Four branches, either collateral or terminal, should be considered: the artery to the bulb of the penis, the urethral artery, the deep artery of the penis and the dorsal artery of the penis. Variations are frequently present in the origin, distribution and symmetry of these arteries, but on the whole the blood supply is organised into three planes, inferior or ventral, middle and deep, superior or dorsal. These three planes are complementary: when the blood supply to any one of them is occluded, at whatever level this may be, the blood supply is supplemented by the plane immediately above it. Arteriograms should be interpreted with caution because anatomical variations may at first sight be taken for pathological change. The superficial system, supplying the tissues around the erectile organs, arises from the lateral inferior pudendal arteries. Three types of supply have been described, according to whether the right and left arteries have a symmetrical distribution or whether the arterial network arises in large part or totally from one side.