Radioanatomic study of the gastrocolic venous trunk.

The mode of formation, measurements and frequency of occurrence of the gastrocolic venous trunk were studied by the injection-corrosion technique in a series of 54 anatomic specimens and by the analysis of 50 CT studies in patients without hepatic or pancreatic disease. The gastrocolic trunk was found in 51 of the 54 anatomic specimens and in 27 of the 50 CT studies. The great variability in its formation, whether bipodal, tripodal or quadripodal, was noted. With a mean diameter of 4.9 mm, it opened into the anterior, right or antero-left aspects of the superior mesenteric v. at a mean distance of 15 mm below the inferior border of the spleno-mesenteric confluence. The value of preliminary CT assessment before an operation for portal hypertension or a pancreatic tumor or in the diagnosis of a splenic thrombosis is emphasised.