Abstract

Splenic artery is the largest branch of the Coeliac trunk and is the most tortuous artery in the body1 . It mainly supplies the spleen, pancreas and stomach. Splenic artery arises directly from the Coeliac trunk or from the abdominal aorta or from the superior mesenteric artery. Sometimes may arise as common trunk as hepato- splenic or gastro-splenic trunk2 . Typical course of splenic artery is supra-pancreatic. It may also be intra-pancreatic or retro-pancreatic in course3 . The study included total of 50 cadavers from the Department of Anatomy, Gandhi medical college, Secunderabad and from Osmania medical college, Hyderabad. A thorough knowledge of variations in origin and course of splenic artery is important while performing different surgical interventions and radiological procedures of upper abdominal regions. The ligation of splenic artery is important in surgical procedures like Haemolytic disorders, intra hepatic portal hyper tension and Bantis syndrome. The aim of ligation of the splenic artery, in most instances, is to effect a simple aseptic necrosis of the spleen that is to render the organ oligemic and not ischemic4 .