Inferior gluteal artery
| Inferior gluteal artery | |
|---|---|
 Left gluteal region, showing surface markings for arteries and sciatic nerve | |
 Internal iliac artery and branches, including inferior gluteal artery | |
| Details | |
| Source | Internal iliac artery |
| Branches | Accompanying artery of ischiadic nerve |
| Vein | Inferior gluteal veins |
| Supplies | Gluteus maximus, piriformis and quadratus femoris muscles |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | Arteria glutaea inferior |
| TA | A12.2.15.018 |
| FMA | 18871 |
The inferior gluteal artery (sciatic artery), the smaller of the two terminal branches of the anterior trunk of the internal iliac artery, is distributed chiefly to the buttock and back of the thigh.
It passes down on the sacral plexus of nerves and the piriformis muscle, behind the internal pudendal artery, to the lower part of the greater sciatic foramen, through which it escapes from the pelvis between the piriformis and coccygeus.
It then descends in the interval between the greater trochanter of the femur and tuberosity of the ischium, accompanied by the sciatic and posterior femoral cutaneous nerves, and covered by the gluteus maximus, and is continued down the back of the thigh, supplying the skin, and anastomosing with branches of the perforating arteries.
Additional images
The arteries of the gluteal and posterior femoral regions.
Dissection of side wall of pelvis showing sacral and pudendal plexuses.
| Dissection images |
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See also
References
- This article incorporates text in the public domain from the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)
External links
- Inferior_gluteal_artery at the Duke University Health System's Orthopedics program
- Anatomy figure: 43:07-12 at Human Anatomy Online, SUNY Downstate Medical Center - "Sagittal view of the internal iliac artery and its branches in the female pelvis. "
- pelvis at The Anatomy Lesson by Wesley Norman (Georgetown University) (pelvicarteries)
