Journal of the Louisiana State Medical Society
A celiacomesenteric trunk occurs when the 10th to 12th vitelline arteries regress and a large portion of the ventral anastomosis persists to connect the celiac artery or its major branches to the SMA (Figure 3). 1,2,9 The CTA is considered the modality of choice for the evaluation of arterial anatomy, with a diagnostic accuracy of 97%-98% for detection of arterial variations. 10 The volu- metric acquisition of data allows creating isotropic volume rendering and multi-planar reconstruction, providing a 3D model of the patient´s arterial anatomy. Another advantage is that it can show the relationship between the arteries and the adjacent organs. 10-12 CONCLUSION Adequate radiologic knowledge and detection of vas- cular anatomic variations is essential to avoid unexpected complications and potential iatrogenic injuries during surgi- cal and minimally invasive procedures. CT angiography is a reliable tool for identifying celiac and mesenteric arterial anatomy variants.
Figure 1: Axial maximum intensity projection MDCT shows a common celiacomesenteric trunk (white arrow) arising from the anterior surface of the abdominal aorta.
Figure 2: (left) Sagittal maximum intensity projection MDCT image shows celiac axis (CA) and superior mesenteric artery (SMA) originating from a common trunk (C). (right) Oblique 3D volume-rendered image demonstrates common celiac-SMA trunk (white solid arrow) and an infra-renal fusiform aortic aneurism (arrowhead).
54 J La State Med Soc VOL 166 March/April 2014
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