Anatomy of the neural fibers at the superior mesenteric artery-a cadaver study.

Purpose: Most surgeons perform right-sided semicircular clearance of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) nerve plexus for pancreatic head carcinoma, presuming a linear course of the SMA nerve fibers. The hypothesis was that the SMA nerve plexus fibers follow a non-linear course, and the goal of the present study was to assess the neural fibers distribution along the SMA.

Methods: The course of neural fibers along the retropancreatic and suprapancreatic SMA was assessed in 7 cadavers.