The ovarian artery is unique to female anatomy, as it is part of a woman’s reproductive system. This blood vessel relays oxygen-rich blood to the ovaries.
The vessel branches off the abdominal aorta, and it remains completely located within the abdominal cavity. The artery shoots off into several different branches, including the tubal branches to the Fallopian tube. The artery also possesses a branch to the round ligament, as well as a branch to the fundus, where the ovarian artery joins with the uterine artery.
The artery has a venal counterpart in the similarly named ovarian vein. Once the ovaries deplete oxygen from the ovarian artery, it drains into the ovarian vein. This vein has left and right branches that are not symmetrically structured. The right ovarian vein drains to the inferior vena cava, while the left flows into the left renal vein. All oxygen-depleted blood eventually returns to the lungs and the heart.