Arterial blood supply to the pancreas from accessary middle colic artery

Abstract Background An accessory middle colic artery (AMCA) is an aberrant artery feeding the splenic flexure of the colon. Little is known about the branching pattern of an AMCA. We aimed to evaluate the branching pattern of the AMCA from the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) with special reference to the pancreatic artery using multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) before surgery. Methods We investigated 112 patients who underwent contrast-enhancement MDCT before surgical resection of the pancreas between January 2015 and July 2018. The pancreatic branch from the AMCA was divided into the dorsal pancreatic artery (DPA) and the inferior pancreaticoduodenal artery (IPDA). The branching level and angle of the AMCA from the SMA were also evaluated. Results The AMCA was present in 27.7% of patients (n = 31/112). The AMCA branching pattern was classified into four types: type A, no branch from the AMCA (n = 20); type B, a common trunk with the DPA (n = 6); type C, a common trunk with the IPDA (n = 3); and type D, a common trunk with the DPA and IPDA (n = 2). The AMCA with the IPDA (types C and D) branched more proximally compared to the AMCA without the IPDA (P = 0.04). The AMCA branched vertically from the SMA in most cases (n = 24/31, 77.4%). Conclusions The AMCA had a pancreatic branch in 8.9% (10/112) of cases. Special attention should be paid to its branching pattern in pancreatic and colon surgery.