Rare arterial variation: a common trunk from the external iliac artery for the obturator, inferior epigastric and profunda femoris arteries.

In this anomaly, observed in the right pelvic region of a female newborn cadaver among 100 studied (1%), a common arterial trunk arose from the medial side of the external iliac a. 1 cm proximal to the inguinal ligament. The trunk first divided into an ascending branch, which finally divided into the obturator and inferior epigastric arteries, and a descending branch, the profunda femoris a. from which arose the medial circumflex femoral a. The origin of the profunda femoris, obturator and inferior epigastric aa. is explained on the basis of the embryologic development and their course and variations are compared with reports in the literature.