A mixed-type intermesenteric trunk as a major contributor to the ascending, transverse, and descending colons: a case report.

PURPOSE: We present a case in which a mixed-type intermesenteric trunk was the major arterial supply for the ascending, transverse, and descending colons.

METHODS

We dissected a cadaver of a man aged 74 years that was used for a routine abdominal dissection course of 2nd year medical students.

RESULTS

We observed that a mixed-type intermesenteric trunk supplied the majority of the colon, originating from the inferior mesenteric artery. The vessel was non-tortuous and had a counter clockwise course. It gave branches that supply the marginal artery at the splenic and hepatic flexures and at the transverse colon and finally it anastomosed with the ileocolic artery at the ileocecal junction. Through the intermesenteric trunk, the inferior mesenteric artery supplied the descending, transverse, and ascending colons with contributions from the sigmoidal and ileocolic arteries.

CONCLUSIONS

The intermesenteric trunk is an important central connection between the superior and inferior mesenteric arteries. It probably is an embryologic remnant that constituted a longitudinal anastomosis between both mesenteric arteries.