Celiomesenteric trunk: two variants of a rare anomaly.

The celiomesenteric trunk is a rare congenital vascular anomaly characterized by a common origin of the celiac axis and superior mesenteric artery. We report two variants: one in which the left gastric artery arises from a short common trunk and a second where the left gastric artery originates directly from the aorta above the common trunk. We discuss a possible embryologic mechanism for formation of these variants and the clinical implications. These cases also illustrate the ability of multidetector CT to provide quality images of such vascular anomalies.