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Appendicular artery: anatomy, location and function

The appendicular artery is the artery of the vermiform appendix. It supplies the appendix.

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Highlighted in the model: Appendicular artery. Click any part to read about it, or switch off “Highlight topic” to see the whole body. 3D data: BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0; meshes simplified and recoloured. The model is an adult male.

Appendicular artery at a glance

What it is
The appendicular artery is the artery of the vermiform appendix.
Location
It usually arises from the ileocolic artery (or its posterior cecal branch), passes behind the terminal ileum and runs in the free edge of the mesoappendix.
Function
It supplies the appendix.
Body system
Cardiovascular · single, midline structure
FMA ID
FMA14818 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)

Key facts

  • It is an end artery.
  • It is usually single; an accessory appendicular artery is present in some people.

Clinical relevance

Blocking it can lead to gangrene and perforation of the appendix.

Structures next to the appendicular artery

The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:

References

  1. Foundational Model of Anatomy: Appendicular artery (FMA14818). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
  2. OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §20.1 Structure and Function of Blood Vessels. Rice University, 2022.
  3. Mitsuhashi N. et al. (2009). BodyParts3D: 3D structure database for anatomical concepts. Nucleic Acids Research 37, D782–D785. Data © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0.

Explore the whole body in the interactive 3D human anatomy model, or browse the A–Z list of human structures.