Quick Facts
Origin: Network of vessels on the pelvic surface of the sacrum.
Course: Drains into the middle and lateral sacral veins.
Tributaries: Sacral intervertebral veins.
Drainage: Sacrum.
Related parts of the anatomy
Origin
The sacral venous plexus is a network of vessels that originates caudal to the lumbosacral junction.
Course
The sacral venous plexus normally forms a symmetrical hexagonal network of vessels on the pelvic surface of the sacrum, that drains into the lateral branch of the hypogastric vein. A sacral ladder is formed from anastomoses created by transversely orientated pre-sacral veins that unite the medial and lateral sacral veins (Zeit and Cope, 1983).
Tributaries
The sacral venous plexus receives blood from the sacral intervertebral veins and forms anastomoses with the lumbar and pelvic veins.
Structures Drained
The sacral venous plexus drains the surrounding sacrum.
References
Zeit, R. M. and Cope, C. (1983) 'Anatomy of the sacral venous plexus', AJR Am J Roentgenol, 140(1), pp. 143-4.
