Which of the following supplies blood to the pelvis and lower limbs?

The common iliac artery is responsible for supplying blood to the pelvis and lower limbs. It branches from the abdominal aorta and bifurcates into the internal and external iliac arteries. The internal iliac artery primarily supplies the pelvic organs, while the external iliac artery continues down to become the femoral artery, which supplies the lower limbs. This anatomical pathway makes the common iliac artery critical for delivering oxygen-rich blood to both the pelvis and the legs.

The common iliac vein, while important for venous drainage from these regions, does not supply blood. Instead, it carries deoxygenated blood back to the heart. The ascending aorta is responsible for delivering blood directly from the heart to the systemic circulation and does not specifically target the pelvis or lower limbs. Similarly, the inferior vena cava is a major vein that gathers blood from the lower body and returns it to the heart, and it plays a role in venous drainage rather than supplying blood. Thus, the common iliac artery is the correct answer as it is the vessel that supplies arterial blood to the pelvis and lower limbs.