Abstract
The obturator artery normally originates from the internal iliac artery while the obturator vein drains into the internal iliac vein. During a routine gross anatomy dissection class for undergraduate students at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India, in 2016, a rare unilateral variation in the obturator vasculature was found in a female cadaver of approximately 55 years of age. In this case, the left obturator artery originated from the superior gluteal artery and the left obturator vein drained into the external iliac vein. Knowledge of such variations is necessary during hernia procedures, ligation of the internal iliac artery and muscle graft surgeries.
Highlights
The obturator artery normally originates from the internal iliac artery while the obturator vein drains into the internal iliac vein
During a routine gross anatomy dissection class for undergraduate students at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India, in 2016, a rare unilateral variation in the obturator vasculature was found in a female cadaver of approximately 55 years of age
The left obturator artery originated from the superior gluteal artery and the left obturator vein drained into the external iliac vein
Summary
Abstract: The obturator artery normally originates from the internal iliac artery while the obturator vein drains into the internal iliac vein. During a routine gross anatomy dissection class for undergraduate students at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India, in 2016, a rare unilateral variation in the obturator vasculature was found in a female cadaver of approximately 55 years of age In this case, the left obturator artery originated from the superior gluteal artery and the left obturator vein drained into the external iliac vein. The obturator artery is replaced by an enlarged pubic branch of the inferior epigastric artery—an accessory obturator artery—which descends almost vertically to the obturator foramen.[1] The obturator vein begins in the proximal adductor compartment and enters the pelvic cavity via the obturator foramen It runs in a posterosuperior direction, below the obturator artery and between the ureter and internal iliac artery, before draining into the internal iliac vein.[1] Anatomical knowledge of the pelvic viscera and the vasculature of the retropubic pelvic region is vital for endoscopic inguinal hernioplasties, laparoscopic herniorrhaphies and during bilateral internal iliac artery ligation, a life-saving procedure to control haemorrhage following complications in gynaecological and obstetric procedures.[3,4]
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