A statistical study of the branching of the human internal iliac artery

This study is based on the dissections of 645 pelvic halves of Japanese cadavers. The branching of the internal iliac artery was classified according to Adachi's classification (1928), and the data was compared with previous reports. Type I was predominant in this, as well as, in previous studies. During the course of the present study, some branching forms were different from the types in Adachi's classification. Therefore, this classification was modified into 5 types and 19 groups. Type I-Group 1 was most frequently observed in the modified Adachi's classification, however, the frequency was less than 50% (46.8%). To clarify the basic branching pattern of the original internal iliac artery and to simplify the classification for medical purposes, a new classification system was designed. The superior gluteal, inferior gluteal and internal pudendal arteries were defined as the major branches of the internal iliac artery, and the umbilical artery was excluded from this group. The branching of the internal iliac artery was classified into 4 groups. Almost 80% of the present specimens were included in Group A of the new classification, namely, the internal iliac artery dividing into two major branches, the superior gluteal artery and the common trunk of the inferior gluteal and internal pudendal arteries. This type of branching seemed to be the basic branching pattern for the original internal iliac artery.