Figure 6.

An anterior view of the infrarenal retroperitoneum showing the aortic bifurcation and superior hypogastric plexus. The overlaid superior hypogastric plexus (held up by forceps) is supplied by the right and left cords of the aortic plexus. In addition, it is supplied posteriorly by the right (arrowheads) and left (arrows) retroaortic lumbar splanchnic nerves (LSNs). Note, in this specimen, the bilateral retroaortic nerves converged into a common nerve immediately prior to joining superior hypogastric plexus; a unique observation to this study that has been briefly acknowledged in the previous literature (Learmonth, 1931). IMA, inferior mesenteric artery; IVC, inferior vena cava.