Ileal branch of ileocolic artery
Ramus ilealis arteriae ileocolicae
An offshoot of the ileocolic artery that runs along the terminal ileum in the lower right abdomen, supplying the last part of the small intestine.
At a glance
- English
- Ileal branch of ileocolic artery
- Latin (TA2)
- Ramus ilealis arteriae ileocolicae
- System
- Artery
- Region
- Trunk
- Side
- Single, on the midline
About the ileal branch of ileocolic artery
The ileal branch is one of the terminal branches of the ileocolic artery, which is itself the lowest branch arising from the right side of the superior mesenteric artery. The ileocolic artery runs downwards and to the right in the root of the mesentery towards the right iliac fossa, and near the ileocaecal junction it divides. Its upper division ascends along the colon, while the lower division gives the anterior and posterior caecal arteries, the appendicular artery and the ileal branch.
From this point the ileal branch turns upwards and to the left, running in the mesentery along the mesenteric border of the terminal ileum. It sends short straight vessels into the wall of the gut and ends by joining the last of the ileal arteries, the terminal portion of the superior mesenteric artery itself. This union completes a continuous arterial loop along the final stretch of small bowel.
The territory it supplies is the last part of the ileum just before it opens into the caecum. Its accompanying vein drains to the ileocolic vein and on to the superior mesenteric vein, and lymph from the region passes to the ileocolic nodes, which lie along the artery.
The vessel matters most in right-sided bowel surgery. In a right hemicolectomy the ileocolic artery is divided near its origin, and the ileal branch is taken with the terminal ileum that is removed. In resections for Crohn disease, which often affects the terminal ileum, and in tumours of the caecum and appendix, the surgeon judges how much ileum keeps a good supply from the remaining ileal arcades.
Course and supply
- Arises from
- Arises from the lower division of the ileocolic artery near the ileocaecal junction.
- Ends in
- Runs along the terminal ileum and anastomoses with the last ileal branch of the superior mesenteric artery.
- Supplies
- Supplies the terminal ileum.
Anthromica
See the ileal branch of ileocolic artery where it really sits, with every layer of the body around it.
- Every layer, one body. Peel from muscle to bone, nerve, vessel and organ, and turn it any way.
- English and Latin. Every structure named the way your exam names it.
- Quiz until it sticks. Short drills on the structures you keep missing.
Free to start. No card.
