The relationships of the bile duct and the retroduodenal arteries and their importance in the surgical treatment of hemorrhagic duodenal ulcer.

The anatomic relationships of the gastroduodenal artery (GDA) and the posterior superior pancreaticoduodenal artery (PSPD) with the bile duct in their retroduodenal courses were studied in 35 bloc specimens from normal cadavers, injected after removal. The distances between the GDA, the pylorus, and the bile duct were measured in the sagittal plane. The origin and course of the PSPD in relation to the bile duct were studied. The relation of the GDA and the bile duct were divisable into four types: in Type 1 (n = 22) the two structures separated progressively, the artery being on the left of the bile ducts; in Type 2: (n = 7) the structures approached each other without crossing, Type 3: (n = 5) the GDA crossed in front of the bile duct at the level of the first part of the duodenum (D1), Type 4: (n = 1) the GDA crossed the bile duct below D1 and ran along its right border. The PSPD originated at the posterior face of D1 in 20% of cases (n = 7) and crossed the anterior surface of the bile duct at the posterior surface of D1. In four cases there was no pancreatic tissue between the PSPD and the bile ducs. It follows that the risk of injury to the bile duct when securing hemostasis by transfixing a bleeding duodenal ulcer in the D1 segment is great when the arterial structures (GDA and PSPD) cross the bile duct. This risk is increased when there is no pancreatic tissue between them.