The obturator artery is a branch of the internal iliac artery that passes antero-inferiorly (forwards and downwards) on the lateral wall of the pelvis, to the upper part of the obturator foramen, and, escaping from the pelvic cavity through the obturator canal, it divides into both an anterior and a posterior branch.The obturator artery supplies the pelvic muscles it crosses, the head of the femur, the muscles of the medial compartment of the thigh and gives a small branch to the knee capsule. The iliac branch supplies the bone and the iliacus muscle. It also has a cutaneous supply to the medial thigh.
The obturator artery runs along the lateral wall of the lesser pelvis and leaves the pelvic cavity via the obturator canal. Then the obturator artery runs to the thigh dividing into an anterior and a posterior branch to supply the muscles of the medial group of the thigh and the external obturator muscle.It is accompanied by the obturator vein (OV) which terminates into the internal iliac vein (IIV). In about 20-25% cases, OA arises from the inferior epigastric artery (IEA) instead of the internal iliac artery (EIA) and then it is called an abnormal obturator artery (AOA).
Corona mortis. ... Corona mortis, Latin for "crown of death", is a common variant vascular anastomosis between the external iliac artery or deep inferior epigastric artery with the obturator artery. It is reported to be present in a third of patients on routine multi-detector CT examination 1,4.