Morphometric Analysis of the Uterine Artery and Its Associations with Neighboring Arteries

OpenAlex İngilizce

Background Serving as a primary vessel supplying the uterus, the uterine artery (UA) was the focus of this study, which sought to describe its anatomy and measure its morphometric associations with surrounding arteries. Methods Bilateral dissections were performed on 53 fresh female cadavers. Measurements included the lengths of the common (LCIA) and internal iliac arteries (LIIA), and the distances from the UA origin to the internal iliac artery (U–IIA) and the anterior trunk (U–AT). When the UA arose from the umbilical artery (UmA), the distance between them (U–UmA) was additionally measured. ImageJ software was employed to perform all measurements, which were expressed in millimeters. Results The LCIA averaged 57.44 ± 15.08 mm on the right and 58.54 ± 15.93 mm on the left. The LIIA measured 33.95 ± 15.81 mm and 30.26 ± 13.22 mm on the right and left, respectively. The mean U–IIA was 50.31 ± 16.39 mm on the right and 48.96 ± 16.02 mm on the left, while the U–AT measured 15.31 ± 5.75 mm and 18.77 ± 7.43 mm, respectively. A significant side difference was noted for the U–AT values (p = 0.002). The U–UmA averaged 6.68 ± 2.98 mm in 24 sides. Conclusion These findings may offer new anatomical insights that improve the safety and effectiveness of UA ligation and embolization in managing obstetric hemorrhage and uterine fibroids.