OBSERVATIONS ON THE MODE OF TERMINATION AND PARENCHYMAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE SPLENIC ARTERY WITH EVIDENCE OF SPLENIC LOBATION AND SEGMENTATION

Abstract

The mode of termination of the splenic artery was studied in 25 cadavers. In 2/3 of the cases the artery divided at the hilus of the spleen into superior and inferior terminal branches while in the other 1/3 it divided into its terminal branches between the tail of the pancreas and the hilus of the organ. In 12% of the spleens there was an upper polar and a lower polar branch, another 12% presented with an upper polar, 50% with a lower polar and the remaining 26% with terminal branches only. Observation on the parenchymal distribution of the artery in 17 casts revealed that the terminal branches suddenly changed their direction to form an arterial arcade or divided in such a fashion that the resultant branches together constituted an arterial arcade. Avascular planes coinciding with deep notches on the external surface separated the territories supplied by these terminal branches into lobes. Thus with the additional polar lobes, the spleen might consist of up to 5 lobes.