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Superficial epigastric artery: anatomy, location and function

A small branch of the femoral artery to the lower abdominal wall. It supplies the skin and superficial fascia of the lower anterior abdominal wall.

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Structures

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Highlighted in the model: Superficial epigastric artery. 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.

Superficial epigastric artery at a glance

What it is
A small branch of the femoral artery to the lower abdominal wall.
Location
It arises from the femoral artery below the inguinal ligament and ascends over it in the subcutaneous tissue to the umbilicus.
Function
It supplies the skin and superficial fascia of the lower anterior abdominal wall.
Body system
Cardiovascular · paired (left and right)
FMA ID
FMA20736 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)

Structures next to the superficial epigastric artery

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

References

  1. Foundational Model of Anatomy: Superficial epigastric artery (FMA20736). 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.

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