[Vascular anatomic principles of surgery of the terminal ileum]

The terminal ileum has a reputation for poor vascularisation. In nontumoral lesions a maximum preservation of the terminal ileum and the ileocaecal valve for functional reasons should be aimed at. Therefore we carried out a study on 200 cadavers by preparation of the superior mesenteric artery and the ileocolic artery and their branches. We used the classification of the arrangements of the arteries of the terminal ileum of Chevrel und Guéraud. We found a lower origin of the anastomosis between the superior mesenteric artery and the ileocolic artery in 56%, an upper origin in 44%. A recurrent ileal artery was present in 84%. Surgical applications can be drawn from this study.