title: Anomalous inferior mesenteric artery supplying the ascending, transverse, descending, and sigmoid colons.
abstract: We have encountered in our anatomical practice the first case and an extremely rare second case in which the ascending, transverse, descending, and sigmoid colons were supplied by the inferior mesenteric artery. The causes of colic artery anomalies are generally explained in conjunction with the development of the superior mesenteric artery, which is intimately related to embryonic elongation and midgut rotation. However, this embryological model was inapplicable to both cases. This difficulty motivated us to seek possible relationships with reported anomalous inferior mesenteric arteries in adults as well as their embryological causes. We consider that the aberrant right colic artery found in 2009 is an "intermesenteric artery" which anastomoses the superior (or its middle colic branch) and inferior mesenteric artery, but secondarily lost its origin from the superior mesenteric artery. The aberrant colic artery found in 2010 is a "middle-inferior mesenteric artery" in which the inferior mesenteric artery formed a common trunk with remnant middle mesenteric artery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Iwate Medical University School of Medicine, Morioka, Iwate, Japan.
authors.forename: Tamami
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Iwate Medical University School of Medicine, Morioka, Iwate, Japan.
authors.forename: Ayako
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ujiie
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Iwate Medical University School of Medicine, Morioka, Iwate, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuya
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Taguchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Iwate Medical University School of Medicine, Morioka, Iwate, Japan.
authors.forename: Shun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Satoh
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Iwate Medical University School of Medicine, Morioka, Iwate, Japan.
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shibuya
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Iwate Medical University School of Medicine, Morioka, Iwate, Japan.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jun
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Iwate Medical University School of Medicine, Morioka, Iwate, Japan. sisogai@iwate-med.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Sumio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Isogai
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Iwate Medical University School of Medicine, Morioka, Iwate, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoh-Ichi
authors.initials: YI
authors.lastname: Satoh
mesh_terms: D002102:Cadaver; D044682:Colon, Ascending / Q000098:blood supply*; D044683:Colon, Descending / Q000098:blood supply*; D012809:Colon, Sigmoid / Q000098:blood supply*; D044684:Colon, Transverse / Q000098:blood supply*; D006801:Humans; D017537:Mesenteric Artery, Inferior / Q000002:abnormalities*
keywords: Anomalous mesenteric artery; Intermesenteric artery; Middle mesenteric artery