The superior gluteal veins, also called venae gluteae superiores, are the numerous accompanying veins of the superior gluteal artery. The superior gluteal artery is the internal iliac artery’s biggest branch division.
The gluteal veins are classified as being the superior gluteal artery’s vena comitans. The term vena comitans describes veins that come in two. The term means ‘accompanying vein’ in Latin.
The veins take on tributaries through the gluteal (buttock) region that correspond with the artery’s various branches. They come into the pelvis via the greater sciatic foramen, a large gap in the pelvic on either side of the center. For the most part, the veins come back together before emptying into the internal iliac vein.
These veins are located in close proximity to the obturator nerves, which ascend out of the ventral (front) divisions of several of the lumbar nerves. The nerves travel past the Psoas major’s fibers, and then arise from near the pelvic brim.