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Deep dorsal vein of penis: anatomy, location and function

The deep dorsal vein is the main vein of the penis, draining the glans and erectile bodies. It drains blood from the glans and the erectile tissue of the penis.

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Highlighted in the model: Deep dorsal vein of penis. Click any part to read about it, or switch off “Highlight topic” to see the whole body. 3D data: BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0; meshes simplified and recoloured. The model is an adult male.

Deep dorsal vein of penis at a glance

What it is
The deep dorsal vein is the main vein of the penis, draining the glans and erectile bodies.
Location
It runs in the midline beneath the deep (Buck's) fascia, passes below the pubic symphysis, between the arcuate pubic and transverse perineal ligaments, and drains into the prostatic venous plexus.
Function
It drains blood from the glans and the erectile tissue of the penis.
Body system
Cardiovascular · single, midline structure
FMA ID
FMA21354 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)

Key facts

  • During erection, veins draining the erectile bodies are compressed against the tunica albuginea, which limits outflow and helps maintain rigidity.

Structures next to the deep dorsal vein of penis

The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:

References

  1. Foundational Model of Anatomy: Deep dorsal vein of penis (FMA21354). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
  2. OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §20.1 Structure and Function of Blood Vessels. Rice University, 2022.
  3. Mitsuhashi N. et al. (2009). BodyParts3D: 3D structure database for anatomical concepts. Nucleic Acids Research 37, D782–D785. Data © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0.

Related anatomy

Explore the whole body in the interactive 3D human anatomy model, or browse the A–Z list of human structures.