Cardiovascular system · Abdomen
Gastric arteries !
The left gastric artery is the smallest branch of the celiac trunk; it runs along the inner curve of the stomach and feeds it and the lower oesophagus.
Official name: Left gastric artery
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What it is
The arteries along the curves of the stomach: left and right gastric, gastro-omental and short gastric arteries.
What it does
Supply the stomach; they bleed in some ulcers.
Key facts
- Origin
- Left gastric: celiac trunk; right gastric: hepatic proper; right gastroepiploic: gastroduodenal; left gastroepiploic and short gastrics: splenic
- Branches
- Left gastric gives esophageal branches; gastroepiploics give omental branches; arcades along both curvatures
- Supplies
- Stomach: lesser curvature (gastrics), greater curvature (gastroepiploics), fundus (short gastrics); lower esophagus
Relations
- Course
- Left gastric: rises up and to the left behind the lesser sac in the left gastropancreatic fold, reaches the cardia, then turns forward and down between the two layers of the lesser omentum along the lesser curvature
- Above
- Abdominal esophagus at the esophageal hiatus, which receives its esophageal branches; the vagal trunks and their gastric branches run close by
- Behind
- Left crus of the diaphragm and the left adrenal gland near its origin
- In front
- Lesser omentum and stomach; the left gastric vein runs with it
How to find it
Seen through the lesser omentum or from inside the lesser sac: it climbs from the celiac trunk to the cardia in a peritoneal ridge on the back wall of the sac (the left gastropancreatic fold), then runs along the lesser curvature between the layers of the lesser omentum. At gastrectomy it is traced down to its origin above the pancreas.
On imaging
CT angiography follows the left gastric artery up from the celiac trunk toward the cardia. In upper digestive bleeding not controlled at endoscopy, selective angiography can show contrast leaking from a gastric artery and allow embolization.
Common problems
- Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA): a silent widening, more common in older men who smoke; rupture is life-threatening.
How it is diagnosed
Ultrasound screening; CT.
Treatment
- Monitoring of small aneurysms; repair with a stent-graft through the groin arteries or open surgery for large ones.
Clinical notes
- Gastrectomy for cancer divides the left gastric artery at its origin to remove the lymph nodes along it
- Lesser-curvature ulcers and Mallory–Weiss tears bleed from left gastric branches; embolization is an option when endoscopy fails
- Splenectomy divides the short gastric arteries in the gastrosplenic ligament; bleeding from them or injury to the gastric wall are known complications
- The left gastric vein that runs with the artery drains into the portal vein; in portal hypertension it feeds esophageal varices
Anatomical variants
- A replaced or accessory left hepatic artery from the left gastric artery is a common variant: it runs in the upper lesser omentum to the left lobe of the liver and can be cut by mistake in a gastrectomy
- The left gastric artery may arise directly from the aorta, or separately when the celiac trunk splits into only two branches
Related conditions
Test yourself
Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.
From which arteries do the gastric arteries arise?
Left gastric: celiac trunk; right gastric: proper hepatic; right gastro-omental: gastroduodenal; left gastro-omental and short gastrics: splenic artery.
What is the course of the left gastric artery?
The smallest celiac branch, it climbs to the cardia, gives esophageal branches, then turns down along the lesser curvature to meet the right gastric artery.
Why does the stomach rarely infarct?
Two arterial arcs, one on each curvature, plus the short gastric arteries to the fundus: it survives the loss of several of its arteries.
Which artery is the main supply of the gastric tube that replaces the esophagus after esophagectomy?
The right gastro-omental artery.
Which hepatic artery variant arises from the left gastric artery, and why does it matter?
A replaced or accessory left hepatic artery, running in the upper lesser omentum to the left lobe; it can be cut by mistake in a gastrectomy.
Educational information, not medical advice. For any symptom, see a health professional.
Its names
- Official Latin (TA2)
- arteria gastrica sinistra; arteria gastrica dextra; arteria gastroomentalis dextra; arteria gastroomentalis sinistra; arteriae gastricae breves TA2 4212
- Official Spanish (DeCS)
- Arterias gástricas y gastroomentales DeCS D000077426
- English (TA2)
- Left gastric artery
- Also called
- right gastroepiploic artery · right gastro-epiploic artery · left gastroepiploic artery · left gastro-epiploic artery
Related
Sources: Terminologia Anatomica (TA2); DeCS; Anatomy, Abdomen and Pelvis: Celiac Trunk; Anatomy of the Human Body (20th ed.): The Abdominal Aorta (Lea & Febiger (Gray's Anatomy, 1918), 1918) · adapted, Public domain.
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Representative model, for educational purposes only.
