Left gastric artery originating directly from the aorta.

During the dissection of a 48-year-old male cadaver, the left gastric artery was observed directly originating from the abdominal aorta. An unusual embryologic development of the ventral splanchnic arteries may lead to considerable variations. The rare occurrence of this variation is stated to be 0.5%-15%. This case of the left gastric artery is described in detail, especially its point of emergence which may be important in operative procedures on the supracolic organs, in stomach resection, and during dissection of lymph nodes along this artery in gastric cancer.