Inferior Vesical Artery, Lateral View

Description

Running along the lateral pelvic wall, the inferior vesical artery arises as a visceral branch of the anterior division of the internal iliac artery and turns anteroinferiorly toward the bladder base. Its distal branches distribute to the fundus and neck of the urinary bladder, coursing medial to the obturator internus and deep to the pelvic fascia, with small arteriolar offshoots entering the detrusor near the trigone. In a male, additional branches commonly track inferiorly toward the prostate and seminal vesicle, aligning with the posterior aspect of the pubic symphysis and the superior surface of the pelvic floor. A lateral perspective clarifies where this vessel sits in the surgical corridor used for pelvic lymphadenectomy and for controlling hemorrhage from internal iliac system branches. During radical prostatectomy or transurethral surgery, bleeding at the bladder neck or prostatic base may originate from inferior vesical branches, and their proximity to the vesicoprostatic venous plexus makes hemostasis a matter of precise anatomy rather than brute cautery. Internal iliac artery ligation, selective pelvic embolization, and traumatic pelvic fracture patterns all depend on recognizing this branch and its usual anastomoses with the superior vesical and middle rectal arteries. Small, but unforgiving. Use this artwork in pelvic anatomy teaching for urology and general surgery, in operative atlases illustrating internal iliac branching patterns, or in interventional radiology materials on bladder and prostate embolization targets and collaterals. Anatomical accuracy verified by SciePro's Medical Advisory Board.