Left inferior epigastric artery

Looks like

A branch of the external iliac artery that starts just above the groin crease and climbs up behind the rectus (six-pack) muscle.

What it does

Supplies the lower front abdominal wall and links up with arteries coming down from the chest.

Keeping it well

Surgeons use it to tell the two kinds of groin hernia apart and to build breast-reconstruction flaps (DIEP). A keyhole port can nick it and cause a bruise in the wall.

Related conditions

• Aortic aneurysm
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Hypothermia & frostbite
• Kawasaki disease
• Metabolic syndrome
• Orthostatic hypotension & POTS
• Peripheral artery disease
• Phaeochromocytoma & hyperaldosteronism
• Pre-eclampsia
• Raynaud's phenomenon
• Sepsis
• Shock (circulatory failure)
• Vasculitis (GCA & others)