CT of the pancreatic tail

The location of the pancreatic tail varies and is confined only by the limits of the anterior pararenal space and the left kidney. The morphology of the pancreatic tail and its location relative to the upper pole of the left kidney, the body of the pancreas, and the splenic hilum were assessed by body computed tomography in 101 patients with normal kidneys and in 15 patients with either small or absent left kidneys. In 97% of normal patients, the pancreatic tail was located anterior or anterolateral to the left kidney. In 75% of patients with surgically or congenitally absent kidneys, the pancreatic tail lay dorsomedial, adjacent to the spine, and occupied, with bowel and spleen, the empty renal fossa. Variation in pancreatic tail location may be of diagnostic importance in patients suspected of having mass lesions in the left mid-abdomen.