Inferior gluteal artery Inferior gluteal artery The inferior gluteal artery (sciatic artery), the smaller of the two terminal branches of the anterior trunk of the internal iliac artery, is distributed chiefly to the buttock and back of the thigh. It passes down on the sacral plexus of nerves and the piriformis muscle, behind the internal pudendal artery, to the lower part of the greater sciatic foramen, through which it escapes from the pelvis between the piriformis and coccygeus. It then descends in the interval between the greater trochanter of the femur and tuberosity of the ischium, accompanied by the sciatic and posterior femoral
Ischium muscle. Above the spine is a large notch, the greater sciatic notch; Below the spine is a smaller notch, the lesser sciatic notch. The superior ramus of the ischium (descending ramus) projects downward and backward from the body and presents for examination three surfaces: external, internal, and posterior. The external surface is quadrilateral in shape. It is bounded above by a groove that lodges the tendon of the external obturator; below, it is continuous with the inferior ramus; in front it is limited by the posterior margin of the obturator foramen; behind, a prominent margin separates it from the posterior