Splenic Artery, Anterior View

Description

Arising from the celiac trunk, the splenic artery courses leftward across the upper abdomen, running along the superior border of the pancreas as it approaches the splenic hilum. From an anterior perspective, its characteristic tortuosity is apparent as it passes posterior to the stomach (not shown) and superior to the pancreatic body and tail, with the splenic vein typically lying inferior and slightly posterior to the artery along the same general trajectory. Distally, segmental branches enter the medial surface of the spleen at the hilum, while smaller pancreatic branches tether the vessel to the gland. A clean arterial roadmap. That arterial curvature matters in real procedures. During distal pancreatectomy, mobilization of the pancreatic tail and splenic hilum forces you to decide between splenic preservation, which risks arterial spasm or intimal injury in a tortuous vessel, and splenectomy, which controls inflow by ligating the splenic artery proximal to its hilar branching. The same anatomy underpins pseudoaneurysm formation after pancreatitis, and it explains why angiographic embolization often targets a branch near the pancreatic tail rather than the proximal trunk. Educators can drop this plate into upper GI blocks to teach celiac trunk derivatives and the pancreas-spleen relationship, or into surgical anatomy modules covering the supramesocolic compartment and splenic hilum. Publishers will find it well suited for operative technique chapters, interventional radiology references on splenic artery aneurysm or pseudoaneurysm, and case reports discussing pancreatitis-related hemorrhage. Anatomical accuracy verified by SciePro's Medical Advisory Board.