Surgical anatomy of arteries running transversely in the pancreas, with special reference to the superior transverse pancreatic artery.

Background/aims: In pancreatic surgery, the pancreas is usually divided over the portal vein. Knowledge of transversely oriented arterial systems within the pancreas that would need to be ligated in most forms of pancreatic surgery is clinically important. We studied the anatomy of arteries running transversely in the pancreas.