title: The ileocolic vein passing through the ring-shaped part of ileocolic artery.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this case report is to report vascular variations in the abdomen because of its clinical importance for the surgeries like acute abdominal emergencies and symptomatic aneurysms. Here, we report an extremely rare case with an ileocolic vein passing through the annulus of the ileocolic artery.
  
  
  METHODS
  During the routine dissection, we found an ileocolic vein perforating through a ring-shaped ileocolic artery.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A ring-shaped ileocolic artery was originating from the superior mesenteric artery as a single branch. After forming the circle, it maintained the regular branching patterns. The ileocolic vein was drained from the ascending colon, cecum, appendix and the distal part of the ileum and passed the center of the ring-shaped part of the ileocolic artery from posterior to anterior. Other structures of the abdomen were normal.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We reported this rare variation and suggest that the clinicians should be aware of this variation for succeeding surgery and making a good diagnosis for the patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Keimyung University, 1000, Shindang-Dong, Dalseo-gu, Daegu, 704-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyunsu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Keimyung University, 1000, Shindang-Dong, Dalseo-gu, Daegu, 704-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Kiwook
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Keimyung University, 1000, Shindang-Dong, Dalseo-gu, Daegu, 704-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: In-Jang
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Keimyung University, 1000, Shindang-Dong, Dalseo-gu, Daegu, 704-701, Republic of Korea. purme2000@naver.com.
authors.forename: Jae-Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003106:Colon / Q000098:blood supply*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017538:Mesenteric Artery, Superior / Q000033:anatomy & histology*
keywords: Arterial variation; Ileocolic artery; Ileocolic vein