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Uterosacral ligament: anatomy, location and function

The uterosacral ligament is a band of fibrous and smooth muscle tissue from the cervix to the sacrum. With the cardinal ligament it gives the main upper support to the cervix and vaginal vault.

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Highlighted in the model: Uterosacral ligament. Click any part to read about it, or switch off “Highlight topic” to see the whole body. Use Male / Female to switch bodies. 3D data: BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science; knee ligaments, menisci, tonsils, palate and parotid glands from the Human Reference Atlas Visible Human Male model and female parts from its Visible Human Female model (HuBMAP / NIH); lung lobes built from the BodyParts3D chest; all CC BY 4.0; meshes simplified and recoloured. The female body shares the male skeleton, muscles and organs except its pelvis, reproductive organs, breasts, bladder, urethra and skin.

Uterosacral ligament at a glance

What it is
The uterosacral ligament is a band of fibrous and smooth muscle tissue from the cervix to the sacrum.
Location
It runs back from the cervix and upper vagina, around the side of the rectum, to the front of the sacrum.
Function
With the cardinal ligament it gives the main upper support to the cervix and vaginal vault.
Body system
Reproductive · paired (left and right) · female body
FMA ID
FMA19120 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)

Key facts

  • The two ligaments raise folds that form the side walls of the rectouterine pouch.
  • They carry autonomic nerves to the pelvic organs.

Clinical relevance

Surgeons attach the vaginal vault to the uterosacral ligaments to repair prolapse; endometriosis often affects them and causes deep pain during intercourse.

Structures next to the uterosacral ligament

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

References

  1. Foundational Model of Anatomy: Uterosacral ligament (FMA19120). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
  2. OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §27.2 Anatomy and Physiology of the Ovarian Reproductive System. 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.
  4. Browne K., Schlehlein H. 3D Reference Organ Set for United, Female (Visible Human Female). Human Reference Atlas 3D Reference Object Library, HuBMAP / NIH. Data from the NLM Visible Human Project. 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.