Correlations between posterior gastric artery and superior polar artery in human anatomy

We investigated the correlations in incidence and anatomy of 2 splenic artery branches, the Posterior Gastric Artery (PGA) and the Superior Polar Artery (SPA). In the literature these 2 branches were never described on one and the same splenic artery. We studied the splenic arteries of 126 corpses and found a cranio-sinistrally directed branch of the splenic artery in 76.2%. It appeared as a PGA (only stomachial supply) in 27.7% and as a SPA (only splenic supply) in 3.27%. In the most cases we detected an intermediate-type--we called it "gastrosplenic artery = GSA"--having a posterior gastric and a superior polar branch simultaneously. Such a "gastrosplenic artery" leaves the main trunk of the splenic artery in its middle segment in cranio--sinistral direction and falls apart into a posterior gastric and a superior splenic branch both with various differences in caliber. All these variations are described, nomenclature and the functional and surgical importance of these findings are discussed.