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Inferior epigastric vein: anatomy, location and function

The inferior epigastric vein drains the lower anterior abdominal wall. It drains the lower anterior abdominal wall.

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Highlighted in the model: Inferior epigastric vein. 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.

Inferior epigastric vein at a glance

What it is
The inferior epigastric vein drains the lower anterior abdominal wall.
Location
It accompanies the inferior epigastric artery and drains into the external iliac vein.
Function
It drains the lower anterior abdominal wall.
Body system
Cardiovascular · paired (left and right)
FMA ID
FMA21164 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)

Key facts

  • It communicates with the superior epigastric vein.
  • Its link with the superior epigastric vein provides a route from the inferior to the superior vena cava when the inferior vena cava is blocked.

Structures next to the inferior epigastric vein

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

References

  1. Foundational Model of Anatomy: Inferior epigastric vein (FMA21164). 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.

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