Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 14, 2026

Utilizing a Cranial Window to Visualize the Middle Cerebral Artery During Endothelin-1 Induced Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion
Published on: February 22, 2013
Retromesenteric course of the middle colic artery-challenges and pitfalls in D3 right colectomy for cancer
Bojan V Stimec1, Bjarte T Andersen2, Stefan R Benz3
1Anatomy Sector, Department of Cell Physiology and Metabolism, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Rue Michel-Servet 1, 1211, Geneva, Switzerland. bojan.stimec@unige.ch.
Background:
The middle colic artery (MCA) is of crucial importance in abdominal surgery, for laparoscopic or open right and transverse colectomies. Against this background, a high number of reports concerning anatomical variations of the MCA have been published intended to contribute to the improvement of operative techniques for the treatment of colon cancer. Despite this extensive literature, briefly reviewed in the present paper, a course of the MCA posterior to the superior mesenteric vein, called a retromesenteric trajectory, has been related to only once, to the best of our knowledge.
Methods:
A total series of 507 patients included in two prospective trials concerning laparoscopic or open right colectomy for cancer between 2011 and 2017 are reported. The investigation included preoperative or postoperative multidetector-computed tomography angiography.
Results:
We found four (0.79%) cases of retromesenteric MCA. They all underwent meticulous image analysis with mesenteric vessels' road mapping, detailed morphometry, and surgical validation which revealed that, apart from their course, those cases did not differ significantly from the rest of the series.
Conclusion:
This paper therefore documents the worth-knowing behavior causing considerable confusion for the operating surgeon unaware of the abnormality and shows its concrete impact on patient-tailored surgical practice, in particular for laparoscopic D3 colectomy (including the "uncinated process first" approach).
More Related Videos
05:43The Role of Anatomical Dissection in Defining Colic and Small Bowel Artery Lymphovascular Bundles in the D3 Volume of Small and Large Bowel Mesentery
Published on: August 1, 2025
12:45Robot-assisted Total Mesorectal Excision and Lateral Pelvic Lymph Node Dissection for Locally Advanced Middle-low Rectal Cancer
Published on: February 12, 2022
Related Concept Videos
Arteries of Lower Limbs
Arteries and Arterioles
Arteries of the Upper Limbs
Overview of Systemic Arteries
Systemic circulation is the part of the cardiovascular system that carries oxygenated blood away from the heart to the body's tissues and returns deoxygenated blood back to the...
Arteries of the Head and Neck
The internal carotid arteries supply blood to the anterior portion of the cerebrum. They enter the...
Cancer