Resumen de Superior polar artery arising from the splenic artery: a case report
Sukhinder Baidwan, P.K. Gupta, Kunal Chawla
The splenic artery shows numerous variations in its origin, course and branching pattern. Anatomical knowledge of variations of the branching pattern of the splenic artery is necessary to successfully accomplish surgical, oncologic or any interventional procedures on organs of the supracolic part of the abdominal cavity. This study reports the presence of a variant superior polar artery in a sixty year old male cadaver. A superior polar branch of the splenic artery, if present, usually arises 3-5 cm proximal to the splenic hilum and has an average length of 3.9 cm. We describe a rare variation of the superior polar artery 7.6 cm long and arising 6.4 cm proximal to the splenic hilum. Prior knowledge of the presence of such a variation can contribute to avoiding iatrogenic injuries and inadvertent complications during splenic surgery.
