A rare variation of the coeliac trunk

The hepatic, splenic and left gastric arteries are considered as the “main classic branches” of the coeliac trunk. During the routine dissections in the laboratory of the Anatomy Department in a 62-year-old male cadaver, a rare variation, a coeliacomesenteric trunk was observed. This trunk gave rise to the left gastric, the common hepatic, the splenic, the left gastro-epiploic, the right and left inferior phrenic arteries. The developmental and clinical significance of this anomalous vessel is discussed.