Abdominal Vascular Physiology

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Abdominal Vascular Physiology Abdominal Vascular Physiology by A Paper Presented in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements of Abdominal Vascular Diseases January, 2012 Abstract In the Abdominal Vascular Physiology paper that you are about to read, I briefly outline the anatomy of some of the abdominal arteries and veins. I also describes the basic, or normal, hemodynamics of those vessels. You will learn the anatomical location, what organ that vessel supplies and if there are any possible anatomic variations. You will learn what type of waveform you can expect when interogating the vessels through ultrasound. I also briefly touch on what an abdominal aortic aneurysm is and how to look at it with ultrasound. Abdominal Vascular Physiology The abdominal aorta is the continuation of the thoracic aorta beginning at the aortic hiatus of the diaphragm. It runs parallel to the IVC slightly to the left of the mid line. It then bifurcates at the level of the umbilicus into the right and left common iliacs. The normal diameter of the aorta is around 2 cm. The abdominal aorta has several branches that include the celiac axis, which trifurcates into the left gastric, the splenic and the hepatic arteries, the SMA, the renal arteries and IMA. The celiac artery supplies the stomach, liver, pancreas, duodenum and spleen. It then branches into the left gastric (stomach), splenic (spleen) and common hepatic (liver) arteries. About one centimeter from the celiac axis, you find the SMA which supplies the small intestine, cecum and parts of the colon. There are anatomical variations where there can be a common trunk of the celiac artery and SMA. The renal arteries which are right below the SMA, supply blood to the kidneys, supra renal glands and the ureters. Multiple renal arteries are not uncommon bilaterally. The IMA arises from the abdominal

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