Bilateral Common Origin of Obturator and Inferior epigastric Arteries from the External Iliac Arteries, Accompanied by Venous Corona Mortis Duplicated on the Left Hemi-Pelvis

Abstract

During the dissection of the pelvis of a 93-year-old female donor, aberrant obturator artery and inferior epigastric artery were found to arise by a common trunk from the external iliac arteries bilaterally. Both right and left AOAs descended into the lesser pelvis with a venous corona mortis and entered the obturator canal on its anterolateral wall where each artery is joined by two (superior and inferior) obturator veins (OVs) and the obturator nerve on the respective side. The bilateral venous corona mortis connected the superior obturator veins with inferior epigastric veins, while on left hemi-pelvis, a second venous corona mortis additionally connected the inferior obturator vein with external iliac vein. These variant pelvic vessels are prone to injuries by trauma during accidents, iatrogenic injuries during inguinal and femoral hernia operations, and other orthopedic, gynecologic and urologic procedures. Such injuries have high morbidity and mortality rate due to hemorrhagic shock, therefore, caution must be exercised to avoid excessive hemorrhage and other complications.