Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Right colic artery
Introduction
The Right Colic Artery arises from about the middle of the concavity of the superior mesenteric artery, or from a stem common to it and the ileocolic.
It passes to the right behind the peritoneum, and in front of the right internal spermatic or ovarian vessels, the right ureter and the Psoas major, toward the middle of the ascending colon; sometimes the vessel lies at a higher level, and crosses the descending part of the duodenum and the lower end of the right kidney.
At the colon it divides into a descending branch, which anastomoses with the ileocolic, and an ascending branch, which anastomoses with the middle colic.
These branches form arches, from the convexity of which vessels are distributed to the ascending colon.
External links
- Template:SUNYAnatomyFigs – “Branches of the superior mesenteric artery.”
- Template:SUNYAnatomyLabs – “Intestines and Pancreas: Branches of Superior Mesenteric Artery”
- Template:SUNYAnatomyImage
- Template:NormanAnatomy
- Template:NormanAnatomy
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]