Inferior pancreaticoduodenal artery
Branch
First branch of the SMA, often shared with the first jejunal artery. Splits into anterior and posterior branches that arch round the head of the pancreas to meet the superior pancreaticoduodenal arteries from the gastroduodenal artery — the main coeliac–SMA anastomosis.
Traced from the start
- Abdominal aorta
- Superior mesenteric artery
- Inferior pancreaticoduodenal artery
Detail
- Supplies
- Head of pancreas, uncinate process, D2 (below papilla) to D4
- Anastomosis
- Superior pancreaticoduodenal arteries (gastroduodenal, coeliac) — the pancreaticoduodenal arcades
- Embryological junction
- Foregut/midgut boundary at the major duodenal papilla, where the two arcades meet
When it goes wrong
Coeliac trunk stenosis or median arcuate ligament compression
Arcade carries retrograde SMA blood to the whole foregut; the high-flow collateral can aneurysm and rupture into the retroperitoneum
Shared arcade binds pancreatic head and duodenum together
Cancer of the pancreatic head requires a Whipple's resection removing head, duodenum and distal bile duct en bloc
Practise this structure
1 question in the bank tagged Pancreas.