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1. A 40 year old male motorbike rider is brought into the A&E department following a collision with a lorry. An urgent laparotomy reveals a severely damaged spleen, and pancreas. Major arterial supply to the pancreas is derived from the…..
a. Left gastric artery
b. Splenic artery
c. Right gastric artery
d. Hepatic artery
e. Gastroduodenal artery

Answer: Splenic artery

Major blood supply to the pancreatic body is derived from the arteria pancreatca magna (aka greater pancreatic artery). It is a branch off the splenic artery as it travels superior to the pancreas towards the splenic hilum. Prior to entering the splenic hilum, the splenic artery gives off approximately 6 pairs of short gastric arteries, and forms the left gastroepiploic artery which anastomoses with the right gastroepiploic/gastro-omental (branch of the gastroduodenal artery) to supply the greater curvature of the stomach and the omentum.

The arterial supply to the head of the pancreas is derived from superior (branch of the gastroduodenal artery), and inferior (branch of the superior mesenteric artery) pancreaticoduodenal artery.

Left gastric artery supplies the distal oesophagus, and anastomoses with the right gastric artery (branch of the common hepatic) to supply the short curvature of the stomach.

Hepatic artery arises from the common hepatic artery distal to the origin of the gastroduodenal artery and right gastric artery. Hepatic artery ascends to the left of the common bile duct and anterior to the portal vein to enter the portahepatis; where it divides into left and right to supply the respective lobes of liver. The right hepatic artery gives off the cystic artery which supplies the gall bladder.