The arterial blood supply of the pancreas: a review II. The posterior superior pancreaticoduodenal artery. An anatomical and radiological study

The present paper is the second part of a comprehensive review of the arterial blood supply of the pancreas and deals with the posterior superior pancreaticoduodenal artery. The aim of this review is to summarise the anatomical studies, starting from Haller's reports, and to supply as far as possible, with original material, angiographic evidences for the classic anatomical notions. For this purpose, the overall research was carried out by picking out and studying 1015 selective angiographies (celiac trunk and its branches, superior mesenteric a.) taken from the angiographic archives of the Institutes of Radiology of Siena, Rome (University of Sacro Cuore, Catholic University), and Perugia. Angiographically, many possible different sources of the posterior superior pancreaticoduodenal a. (superior pancreaticoduodenal a., proper hepatic a., right hepatic a., left hepatic a., superior mesenteric a., accessory and replaced right hepatic a. coming from the superior mesenteric a.) have been demonstrated, as have rare variations of the course and a small number of collateral branches (retroduodenal a. and ventral commissural a.). Moreover, the authors underline the discordant opinions still existing regarding the incidence of the different ways the posterior superior pancreaticoduodenal a. arises.