THE CCELIAC ARTERY IN THE RABBIT 95 



very much like a letter S, on the dorsal surface of the fundus of 

 the stomach. It gives ofif one (figure 7:2, and 8:3, 5, 6, 7) or often 

 two or more (figure 8:4, 8) large vessels, the short gastric arteries 

 (SG), to the left portion of the greater curvature of the stomach. 

 The splenic artery after a short distance then gives rise to one or 

 more very small vessels which supply a portion of the pancreas 

 (figure 8:3). One or more of these vessels are often given off be- 

 fore the short gastric. The splenic now passes to the hilus of the 

 spleen where it gives off to the spleen, one or more branches 

 which in turn break up into a great many smaller branches. 

 The splenic continues into the greater omentum and then toward 

 the right to the greater curvature of the stomach as the left gas- 

 tro'piploic artery (LGE) where it supplies the walls of the 

 stomach and finally anastomoses with the right gastroepiploic artery 

 (ROE) from the other side. 



The left gastric artery (LG) arises from the coeliac, dorsal to 

 the cardia of the stomach, between 5 and 7 mm. from the origin of 

 the splenic, divides immediately into three branches all of which di- 

 vide in a radiating fashion on the surface of the stomach. Two of 

 these branches supply the ventral surface of the stomach and are sep- 

 arated by the cesophagus. The one to the left sends small 

 branches to the oesophagus while the most extreme right branch 

 of the right vessel anastomoses across the lesser curvature of 

 the stomach wath the right gastric artery. The third branch 

 supplies the dorsal stomach wall. 



The hepatic artery (H) is a continuation of the coeliac. It con- 

 tinues to the right and cephalad and after giving off several small 

 branches to the pancreas it gives rise to a vessel which extends to 

 the posterior; the gastroduodenal artery (a. gastroduodenalis). 

 This vessel, which is dorsal to the pyloric stomach, divides into 

 two branches, the larger one of which supplies the duodenum and 

 pancreas, being known as the superior pancreatico-duodenal ar- 

 tery (a. pancreaticoduodenalis superior), while a recurrent branch, 

 the right gastroepiploic artery (a. gastroepiploica dextra), passes 

 through the greater omentum toward the left to the greater curvature 

 of the stomach and anastomoses with the left gastroepiploic 

 artery. The hepatic artery now enters the lesser omentum on its 

 way to the liver but gives off a small branch, the right gastric 

 artery (RG), which passes to the pylorus and anastomoses with 

 the right branch of the left gastric artery across the lesser curva- 

 ture of the stomach (figure 7:1 and 2). 



