Trunk vessels (aorta, vena cava, abdominal branches)
Superficial epigastric arteries
Arteria epigastrica superficialis (dextra et sinistra)
- Origin
- Arises from the anterior aspect of the femoral artery ~1 cm below the inguinal ligament
- Insertion
- Pierces the fascia cribrosa and ascends within the subcutaneous tissue of the anterior abdominal wall towards the umbilicus
- Function
- Supplies the subcutaneous fat (Camper's and Scarpa's fascia) and skin of the infraumbilical abdominal wall
- Innervation
- Iliohypogastric and ilioinguinal nerves
- Movement & chain
- Arterial pulsatile flow
- Palpation
- Not palpated directly
- Clinical
- Vascular pedicle for superficial inferior epigastric artery (SIEA) free flaps used in autologous breast reconstruction.
- Segmental innervation
- T12-L1 dermatomes
- In clinical practice
- Preoperative ultrasound perforator mapping and post-operative microvascular flap capillary refill monitoring
- Region in the model
- Trunk vessels (aorta, vena cava, abdominal branches)