Abstract
ObjectiveTo analyze the prevalence of anatomical variations of celiac arterial trunk (CAT) branches and hepatic arterial system (HAS), as well as the CAT diameter, length and distance to the superior mesenteric artery.Materials and MethodsRetrospective, cross-sectional and predominantly descriptive study based on the analysis of multidetector computed tomography images of 60 patients.ResultsThe celiac trunk anatomy was normal in 90% of cases. Hepatosplenic trunk was found in 8.3% of patients, and hepatogastric trunk in 1.7%. Variation of the HAS was observed in 21.7% of cases, including anomalous location of the right hepatic artery in 8.3% of cases, and of the left hepatic artery, in 5%. Also, cases of joint relocation of right and left hepatic arteries, and trifurcation of the proper hepatic artery were observed, respectively, in 3 (5%) and 2 (3.3%) patients. Mean length and caliber of the CAT were 2.3 cm and 0.8 cm, respectively. Mean distance between CAT and superior mesenteric artery was 1.2 cm (standard deviation = 4.08). A significant correlation was observed between CAT diameter and length, and CAT diameter and distance to superior mesenteric artery.ConclusionThe pattern of CAT variations and diameter corroborate the majority of the literature data. However, this does not happen in relation to the HAS.
Highlights
Recent developments in surgical techniques, in organ transplants and in imaging methods help physicians to makeMailing Address: Dr Severino Aires Araujo Neto
The hepatic arterial system (HAS) varied in 13 cases (21.7%), with 78.3% of the cases presenting with normal anatomy (Figure 3)
The variation in celiac arterial trunk (CAT) ramification confirmed data reported by most authors, who describe the finding of normality in approximately 90% of cases, as found in most studies(12–14) (Table 1)
Summary
Recent developments in surgical techniques, in organ transplants and in imaging methods help physicians to make. The length of the CAT varied when a Greek study was compared with a Brazilian one, the diameter values were very similar(10). Considering their results, Silveira et al(11) have suggested that further studies should be undertaken in order to confirm the variation in CAT length and diameter. Such a wide diversity of data extracted from different populations exposes the fragility of scientific evidence in this topic, leading to the questioning of the universal and indiscriminate applicability of one or another reference source in the medical practice, when populations with different ethnicities are considered. The present study is aimed at analyzing the prevalence of anatomical variations of CAT and HAS ramifications, utilizing images from patients submitted to abdominal intravenous contrast-enhanced multidetector CT scans
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