Ovary

Arterial blood supply

• Ovarian arteries are direct branches of the abdominal aorta

Lymph drainage

• Para-aortic pattern.
• Additional potential for palpable inguinal lymphadenopathy in disease

Innervation

• From the ovarian and pelvic plexuses (transmitted within suspensory ligament)
• Visceral afferent pain fibres ascend with sympathetic fibres to T10-L1 (mainly T10-T11) spinal segments hence ovarian pain may radiate to the umbilicus*
• Parasympathetic supply from S2-S4 fibres originating from abdominal autonomic plexuses.

*Pain may radiate to the medial thigh due to irritation of the obturator nerve as it crosses the ovarian fossa