Fetal median sacral artery anatomy study by micro-CT imaging

The median sacral artery (MSA) is the termination of the dorsal aorta, which undergoes a complex regression and remodeling process during embryo and fetal development. The MSA contributes to the pelvic vascularization and may be injured during pelvic surgery. The embryological steps of MSA development, anastomosis formation and anatomical variations are linked, but not fully understood.

The pelvic vascularization and more precisely the MSA of a human fetus at 22 weeks of gestation (GW) were studied using micro-CT imaging. Image treatment included arterial segmentations and 3D visualization.

At 22 GW, the MSA was a well-developed straight artery in front of the sacrum and was longer than the abdominal aorta. Anastomoses between the MSA and the internal pudendal arteries and the superior rectal artery were detected. No evidence was found for the existence of a coccygeal glomus with arteriovenous anastomosis.

Micro-CT imaging and 3D visualization helped us understand the MSA central role in pelvic vascularization through the ilio-aortic anastomotic system. It is essential to know this anastomotic network to treat pathological conditions, such as sacrococcygeal teratomas and parasitic ischiopagus twins (for instance, fetus in fetu and twin-reversed arterial perfusion sequence).