Gastroduodenal Artery

In anatomy, the gastroduodenal artery is a small blood vessel in the abdomen.

It supplies blood directly to the pylorus (distal part of the stomach) and proximal part of the duodenum, and indirectly to the pancreatic head (via the anterior and posterior superior pancreaticoduodenal arteries).

It most commonly arises from the common hepatic artery of the celiac trunk, but there are numerous variations of the origin. It first gives rise to the supraduodenal artery, followed by the posterior superior pancreaticoduodenal artery. It terminates in a bifurcation when it splits into the right gastroepiploic artery and the anterior superior pancreaticoduodenal artery (superior pancreaticoduodenal artery). These branches form functional anastomoses with the anterior and posterior inferior pancreaticoduodenal arteries from the superior mesenteric artery. Note that the exact branching of vessels from the gastroduoenal artery is variable. Typically, the posterior and anterior superior pancreaticoduodenal arteries branch independently in that order, but can rarely come of a common trunk.