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Prostatic venous plexus | |
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Details | |
Drains from | Prostate |
Source | Deep dorsal vein of the penis |
Drains to | Vesical venous plexus and pudendal plexus |
Identifiers | |
Latin | plexus venosus prostaticus |
TA98 | A12.3.10.013M |
TA2 | 5043 |
FMA | 29711 |
Anatomical terminology |
The prostatic veins form a well-marked prostatic plexus which lies partly in the fascial sheath of the prostate and partly between the sheath and the prostatic capsule.[ citation needed] It collects blood from the prostate, and (via the v. dorsalis profunda clitoridis) the corpora cavernosa of penis. [1] It communicates with the pudendal and vesical plexuses.[ citation needed]
It is sometimes known as "Santorini's plexus", named for the Italian anatomist Giovanni Domenico Santorini.
The prostatic venous plexus drains into the internal iliac vein which in turn connects with the vertebral venous plexus; this is thought to be the route of bone metastasis of prostate cancer. [2]
This article incorporates text in the public domain from page 676 of the 20th edition of Gray's Anatomy (1918)
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There are many connections between the prostatic venous plexus and the vertebral veins. The veins forming the prostatic plexus do not contain valves and it is thought that straining to urinate causes prostatic venous blood to flow in a reverse direction and enter the vertebral veins carrying malignant cells to the vertebral column.