An Aberrant Artery Arising From Common Hepatic Artery

Common hepatic artery is the branch of celiac trunk which is chief artery of the forcgut. Branches of celiac trunk supply the gastrointestinal tract and its associated glands which are derived from foregut. Anatomy and variations of hepatic arterial system have become increasingly important due to increasing number of laparoscopic procedures, oncologic surgical interventions, and organ transplant cases. This case report describes a rare anatomical variation of an aberrant artery arising from common hepatic artery before the origin of gastroduodenal artery and proper hepatic artery. The aberrant artery traversed inferiorly and behind the body of the pancreas which divided into a right and left branches. The right branch ran behind the neck of the pancreas and it ended after giving few branches to head and body of pancreas. However, the left branch gave off branches to the proximal part of the jejunum. The presence of a branch arising directly from the common hepatic artery supplying the pancreas and jejunum is uncommon. Knowledge of such a rare variation is important not only for surgeons but also interventional radiologists and those studying anatomy.