The aim of this study was to detect and describe the existence and incidence
of anatomical variations of the celiac trunk and superior mesenteric artery.
The study was conducted on 150 persons, who underwent abdominal Multi-
Detector Computer Tomography (MDCT) angiography, from April 2010 until
November 2012. CT images were obtained with a 64-row MDCT scanner in order to
analyze the vascular anatomy and anatomical variations of the celiac trunk
and superior mesenteric artery. In our study, we found that 78% of patients
have a classic anatomy of the celiac trunk and superior mesenteric artery.
The most frequent variation was the origin of the common hepatic artery from
the superior mesenteric artery (10%). The next variation, according to
frequency, was the origin of the left gastric artery direct from the
abdominal aorta (4%). The arc of Buhler as an anastomosis between the celiac
trunk and superior mesenteric artery, was detected in 3% of cases, as was the
presence of a common trunk of the celiac trunk and superior mesenteric artery
(in 3% of cases). Separate origin of the splenic artery and the common
hepatic artery was present in 2% of patients. The MDCT scanner gives us an
insight into normal anatomy and variations of the abdominal blood vessels,
which is very important in the planning of surgical interventions, especially
transplantation, as well as in the prevention of complications due to
ischemia.
Common Hepatic Artery (CHA) arises from Superior Mesenteric Artery (SMA): bipode celiac trunk