Marginal artery of the colon

Artery: Marginal artery of the colon
Frontal view of the abdominal aorta and the territory supplied by the inferior mesenteric artery. The arteries on the right side (left side of image) arise from the superior mesenteric artery (SMA). The marginal artery (not labeled) connects the middle colic artery (a branch of the SMA) to the left colic artery (a branch of the IMA).
Latin	arteria marginalis coli
Supplies	large intestine
Source	superior mesenteric artery, inferior mesenteric artery
Dorlands / Elsevier	a_61/12154972

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

In human anatomy, the marginal artery of the colon, also known as the marginal artery of Drummond and artery of Drummond (named after Sir David Drummond (1852-1932) an English physician), is a blood vessel that anastomoses (connects) the inferior mesenteric artery (IMA) with the superior mesenteric artery (SMA). It is sometimes absent, as an anatomical variant.

Clinical relevance

Along with branches of the internal iliac arteries, it is usually sufficiently large to supply the oxygenated blood to the large intestine covered by the inferior mesenteric artery and is a reason that in abdominal aortic aneurysm repair the inferior mesenteric artery does not have to be re-implanted (re-attached) into the repaired abdominal aorta.

See also

• Marginal branch of the right coronary artery, sometimes referred to as the marginal artery.
• Marginal artery

External links

• Abdomen - University of Manitoba
• ii/m/MARGINAL_ARTERY_OF_DRUMMOND article at GE's Medcyclopaedia
• Marginal+artery+of+colon at eMedicine Dictionary
• SUNY Figs 39:01-02 - "Branches of the superior mesenteric artery."
• SUNY Figs 39:02-02 - "Branches of the inferior mesenteric artery."
• Figure of the marginal artery of the heart - merck.com.