The vaginal artery is also called the vaginal artery, and it supplies oxygen and nutrients in the blood to a woman’s vagina. In some women, the artery is not created but is replaced by so-called rami vaginalis. Potential diseases of the vaginal artery include arteriosclerosis and occlusive disease.
What is the vaginal artery?
The vaginal artery is also known as the vaginal artery. The arterial blood vessel is a major artery within the abdominal cavity that is the main supply vessel to the vagina. In humans, two or three arteriae vaginalis per side arise from the internal iliac artery. This distinguishes humans from other creatures. In even-toed ungulates, the vaginal artery also originates from the internal iliac artery, but in carnivores, for example, the origin of the artery corresponds to the internal pudendal artery. In animal anatomy, the prostatic artery is considered homologous to the vaginal artery in males. Not all female humans possess one or more arteriae vaginalis. The artery is partially and sometimes completely replaced in humans by the rami vaginales. These rami arise from the inferior vesical artery, the internal pudendal artery, or the uterine artery.
Anatomy and structure
All arteries of the body draw their blood directly or indirectly from the central artery, also known as the aorta. The blood vessels typically have a three-layered wall with concentrically arranged layers. Toward the lumen, a layer of endothelial cells overlies an underlying layer of connective tissue within the vaginal artery. The artery is also equipped with smooth muscle, which allows regulation of blood flow. The musculature is embedded in an additional layer of connective tissue. In most cases, two or three vaginal arteries arise from the internal iliac artery on each side and extend from there into the abdominal cavity. The vaginal artery has a urinary bladder tributary, also known as the caudal vesical artery. In addition, the artery has an inflow from the rectum: known as the rectal media artery. In some women, the vaginal artery sends out a ramus to the uterus called the ramus uterinus.
Function and Tasks
The arteries of the body form a circulatory system. Like all arteries, the vaginal artery is one of the blood vessels that carries oxygen– and nutrient-rich blood away from the heart. The nutrients in the blood are vital and equally important is the oxygen it contains. Much of the oxygen is bound to the hemoglobin of the blood in the artery and can thus be transported to the abdominal cavity. Blood performs the function of a transport medium in the human body. The arteries deliver the blood from the heart to the individual tissues and keep the tissues and organs of the body alive in this way. The release of oxygen occurs when the pH changes, thus enabling the nearby tissues to absorb oxygen. The vaginal artery performs this task primarily in relation to the vagina and is considered the main blood supply to the sexual organ. The artery also maintains stable heart-generated blood pressure within it. Like all other arteries, the main artery of the vagina branches into smaller and smaller arteries and arterioles. With blood and the nutrients and oxygen molecules it contains, the artery’s branches and arterioles also supply portions of the vaginal vestibule, rectum and urinary bladder. The internal iliac artery, whose offspring is the vaginal artery, also supplies arterial blood to the pelvic wall and viscera, buttocks, and medial thigh.
Diseases
The vaginal artery can be affected by arterial disease as much as any other artery in the body. Arteriosclerosis is considered one of the most important arterial diseases. Usually, the development of arteriosclerosis starts early due to an unhealthy lifestyle. In arteriosclerosis, deposits build up inside the vaginal artery, causing the blood vessel to become narrower and narrower. When a patient has arteriosclerosis, it is always a disease of the entire body. Thus, when the vaginal artery is calcified, it is not only the blood supply to the vagina, urinary bladder and rectum that can be restricted.Symptoms may also appear in relation to the blood supply to the heart, limbs and brain. Arterial occlusive disease, which causes circulatory disorders, is now just as widespread. This arterial disease, like arteriosclerosis, is now a widespread disease. Consequences include heart attacks and strokes. If the vaginal artery is suddenly occluded without warning, this is known as acute occlusion. Such an acute occlusion can be caused by a blood clot, for example, and always corresponds to an absolute emergency that calls for immediate professional treatment. Somewhat less common are conditions such as abdominal aortic aneurysm. Aneurysms are bulges that manifest themselves in berry-, sac-, barge- or tendril-shaped forms on the vessel wall of arteries. Aneurysms are accompanied by dilatation of the vessel lumen and irreversible thinning of the vessel wall. At any location, the manifestations represent a potentially life-threatening alteration of the blood system and, accordingly, often lead to death in the event of sudden rupture. However, the vaginal artery is not very often affected by aneurysms. Basically, the bulges in the vessel wall occur ten times more often in men. Often the aneurysm is the late consequence of arteriosclerosis.
