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| Superior mesenteric artery | |
|---|---|
 Frontal view of thesuperior mesenteric artery and its branches. The large vessel (blue) beside the SMA is thesuperior mesenteric vein. A considerable number of different branching patterns exist. | |
 3D-renderedcomputed tomography ofabdominal aortic branches, showing exit of superior mesenteric artery between the kidneys. | |
| Details | |
| Precursor | Vitelline arteries |
| Source | Abdominal aorta |
| Branches | Inferior pancreaticoduodenal middle colic right colic intestinal branches (jejunal,ileal) ileocolicMarginal artery of the colon |
| Vein | Superior mesenteric vein |
| Supplies | Intestine |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | arteria mesenterica superior |
| MeSH | D017538 |
| TA98 | A12.2.12.053 |
| TA2 | 4252 |
| FMA | 14749 |
| Anatomical terminology | |
Inhuman anatomy, thesuperior mesenteric artery (SMA) is anartery which arises from the anterior surface of theabdominal aorta, just inferior to the origin of theceliac trunk, and supplies blood to theintestine from the lower part of theduodenum through two-thirds of thetransverse colon, as well as thepancreas.
In the adult, the SMA arises anterior to inferior border of vertebra L1 (transpyloric plane). It is usually 1 cm lower than theceliac trunk.
It initially travels in an anterior/inferior direction, passing behind/under the neck of the pancreas and thesplenic vein. Located under this portion of the superior mesenteric artery, between it and the aorta, are the following:
The SMA typically runs to the left of its associated vein, thesuperior mesenteric vein. After passing the neck of the pancreas it starts giving off its branches.
| Branch | Supplies |
|---|---|
| inferior pancreaticoduodenal artery | head of thepancreas and to the ascending and inferior parts of theduodenum (proximal loop) |
| intestinal arteries | branches toileum, branches tojejunum (proximal loop) |
| ileocolic artery | supplies last part of ileum,cecum, andappendix (distal loop) |
| right colic artery | to ascending colon (distal loop) |
| middle colic artery | to the transverse colon (distal loop) |
The number of arterial arcades in the ileum is more than the number of arcades in the jejunum.[1]
The middle, right, andileocecal branches anastomose with each other to form amarginal artery along the inner border of the colon. This artery is completed by branches of the left colic which is a branch of theinferior mesenteric artery.
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