Internal pudendal artery

Looks like

A branch of the internal iliac artery running out of the pelvis, round the sitting bone and forward into the perineum.

What it does

Supplies the anus, perineum and external genitals, including their erectile tissue.

Keeping it well

Narrowing from atherosclerosis contributes to erectile dysfunction; cycling with a hard saddle can compress it and the nerve beside it.

Related conditions

• Bone metastases and spinal cord compression
• 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)