Anatomy study note · Pelvis

Internal iliac vein

The vein draining the pelvis. Its tributaries correspond to the branches of the internal iliac artery; it ascends in front of the sacroiliac joint to join the external iliac vein, forming the common iliac vein.

Key points

• Internal + external iliac → common iliac vein.
• Tributaries match the internal iliac artery branches.
• Massive bleeding in pelvic fractures.
• Pelvic veins drain into the posterior cardinal veins.
• Vein: thin wall, adventitia thickest, valves.
• Veins hold ~70% of the blood.

The full note in the atlas also covers

Features · Histology · Development · Clinical notes

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Written from

• Snell’s Clinical Anatomy by Regions, 10th ed., ch. 8, PDF pp. 1041, 1054–1055
• Inderbir Singh’s Human Embryology, ch. 15, PDF pp. 266, 268
• BRS Cell Biology & Histology, 7th ed., ch. 11, PDF pp. 203–205

More from the pelvis

• Levator ani
• Ligaments of the uterus
• Obturator internus
• Obturator membrane
• Obturator nerve
• Ovary
• Pelvic lymph nodes
• Piriformis
• Prostate
• Pubic symphysis
• Rectum
• Sacral plexus

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