Splenic Artery, Anterior View

Description

Arising from the celiac trunk, the splenic artery runs leftward in a characteristically tortuous course along the superior border of the pancreas, remaining superior and posterior to the first part of the duodenum as it approaches the spleen. Near the splenic hilum, the vessel divides into segmental branches that enter on the visceral surface deep to the splenic capsule, while smaller pancreatic branches descend inferiorly into the pancreatic body and tail. The spleen sits lateral to the pancreatic tail, and the arterial arcades hug the pancreatic contour before turning laterally toward the lienal hilum. Tortuosity is the headline feature. That anterior perspective matters when you need to teach or plan around the pancreas tail and splenic hilum, where arterial branches lie close to the operative field during distal pancreatectomy and splenectomy. Injury or ligation of the splenic artery proximal to its hilar branching can compromise perfusion to the spleen and tail of the pancreas, while aneurysms along this vessel, often detected incidentally on CT angiography, pose a real hemorrhage risk in the left upper quadrant. For catheter-based embolization or surgical control, the artery’s looping path over the pancreas is a landmark and a trap. Use this plate in gross anatomy, abdominal vascular supply modules, and surgical teaching files that cover celiac trunk branches and left upper quadrant approaches, and it also fits well in radiology or interventional texts correlating the splenic artery’s course with cross-sectional angiographic findings. Anatomical accuracy verified by SciePro's Medical Advisory Board.