Positional relationships of abdominal aortic branches for contrast radiography of the inferior mesenteric artery using the coeliac trunk and superior mesenteric artery as landmarks.

Purpose: To establish a method by which angiography of the inferior mesenteric artery (IMA) can be performed smoothly, we investigated the relative locations of the coeliac trunk (CT), superior mesenteric artery (SMA), IMA, and left renal artery (LtRA).

Methods: From a total of 60 cadavers, 32 cadavers with few arteriosclerotic lesions and little vascular tortuosity were selected for the study. The abdominal aorta (Ao) were removed and incised on both lateral side, along the vertical axis and transected into the ventral and dorsal sides. The intravascular lumen on the ventral side of the Ao was photographed using a digital camera, and the horizontal and vertical diameters of the sites of confluence of the CT, SMA, and IMA, were measured on the computer screen. We also calculated the distances between the branches, including the CT, SMA, IMA, LtRA, and the common iliac artery (CoI).

Results: Although the SMA-IMA distance did not correlate with the CT-SMA distance, the ratio of the SMA-IMA to CT-CoI distance was four times greater than the ratio of the CT-SMA to CT-CoI distance.

Conclusions: The site of branching of the IMA can be inferred to some extent from the CT and SMA distance.