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Inferior pancreaticoduodenal artery: anatomy, location and function

The inferior pancreaticoduodenal artery is a branch of the superior mesenteric artery supplying the pancreatic head and duodenum. It supplies the lower head of the pancreas and the duodenum.

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Highlighted in the model: Inferior pancreaticoduodenal 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.

Inferior pancreaticoduodenal artery at a glance

What it is
The inferior pancreaticoduodenal artery is a branch of the superior mesenteric artery supplying the pancreatic head and duodenum.
Location
It arises from the superior mesenteric artery (or its first jejunal branch) and divides into anterior and posterior branches, which anastomose with the superior pancreaticoduodenal arteries.
Function
It supplies the lower head of the pancreas and the duodenum.
Body system
Cardiovascular · single, midline structure
FMA ID
FMA14805 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)

Key facts

  • It links the celiac and superior mesenteric territories.

Structures next to the inferior pancreaticoduodenal artery

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

References

  1. Foundational Model of Anatomy: Inferior pancreaticoduodenal artery (FMA14805). 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.