Abstract: To investigate the uterine arteriography and the response of endovascular embolization for uterine fibroids. Methods: Bilateral internal iliac and uterine arteriography was performed on 60 patients and the angioarchitectures were observed in uterine fibroids with Seldinger technique. The feeding arteries of uterine fibroids were dealt with embolization. Results: The iliac arteries branched to uterine arteries in all 60 cases and 60% of the uterine arteries originated from the anterior trunk of iliac artery. Contralateral oblique view was the best position projected to show the opening and route of the uterine artery. The feeding arteries of uterine fibroids showed the bilateral dominant in 35 cases (58.3%), the unilateral dominant in 21 cases (35%) and the unilateral artery feeding in only 4 cases (6.7%). The symptoms of uterine fibrosis disappeared in all patients after vascular embolization. Followup with ultrasound found the fibroids decreased by 40% in size after 3 months of embolization, 55% after 6 months and 60% after 12 months. Conclusion: Embolization of the uterine artery for uterine fibroid is an effective method. Understanding the angioarchitecture and obstructing all the feeding arteries are of great importance for improving the success rate.

Key words: Uterus, Arteries, Leiomyoma, Embolization, therapeuti