Presence of an Abnormal Obturator Artery Nutrient Branch: Cadaveric Images of a Rare Anatomical Variation

Abstract

Several studies have highlighted the inconstant branching pattern of pelvic arteries, with a recent focus on the obturator artery (OA). The OA has an inconstant origin from the internal iliac artery, external iliac artery, or inferior epigastric artery. Within the pelvis, the OA can give off muscular branches and nutrient vessels to the ilium and pubis. While categorizations of the origin of the OA are well established, limited literature exists on the muscular and nutrient branches arising from this vessel. Furthermore, few resources employ cadaveric images that depict branches arising from the obturator arteries. In the cadaveric case presented here, we examined 34 hemisected pelves and identified one individual with a substantial atypical vessel branching from the obturator artery unilaterally to supply the arcuate line of the ilium. Case studies such as this aim to highlight variations of the OA and nutrient arteries to aid physicians, anatomical instructors, and students alike in the proper identification of such variants and to better understand their prevalence. To our knowledge, this aberrancy is not described in previous studies, despite its size and course which make it particularly vulnerable during intrapelvic surgeries such as pelvic lymph node dissection or in procedures requiring arterial embolization of the obturator artery.