MeSH A08.800.050.050.400 TA A14.3.03.046 | Dorlands
/Elsevier p_24/12647962 FMA 6642 | |
 | ||
Latin plexus hypogastricus superior, nervus presacralis | ||
The superior hypogastric plexus (in older texts, hypogastric plexus or presacral nerve) is a plexus of nerves situated on the vertebral bodies anterior to the bifurcation of the abdominal aorta.
Structure
From the plexus, sympathetic fibers are carried into the pelvis as two main trunks- the right and left hypogastric nerves- each lying medial to the internal iliac artery and its branches. The right and left hypogastric nerves continues as Inferior hypogastric plexus; these hypogastric nerves send sympathetic fibers to the ovarian and ureteric plexi, which originate within the renal and abdominal aortic sympathetic plexi. The superior hypogastric plexus receives contributions from the two lower lumbar splanchnic nerves (L3-L4), which are branches of the chain ganglia. They also contain parasympathetic fibers which arise from pelvic splanchnic nerve (S2-S4) and ascend from Inferior hypogastric plexus; it is more usual for these parasympathetic fibers to ascend to the left-handed side of the superior hypogastric plexus and cross the branches of the sigmoid and left colic vessel branches, as these parasympathetic branches are distributed along the branches of the inferior mesenteric artery.