A variant origin of cystic artery from superior mesenteric artery

George Joseph LUFUKUJA

Abstract

The cystic artery usually arises from the right hepatic artery. It usually passes posterior to the common hepatic duct and anterior to the cystic duct to reach the superior aspect of the neck of the gallbladder and divides into superficial and deep branches. The superficial branch ramifies on the inferior aspect of the body of the gallbladder, the deep branch on the superior aspect. In our case we observed a variant origin of cystic artery from the superior mesenteric artery. Knowledge of the variant vascular anatomy of the sub-hepatic region is important for hepatobiliary surgeons in limiting operative complications due to unexpected bleeding.