Arteries of the large intestine

Watch videos

The large intestine is a final part of the alimentary tract whose function is to absorb the water and salts from food, as well as to get rid of the unnecessary waste that’s left over after that absorption. The human alimentary tract develops from three parts of the primitive gut tube: foregut, midgut and hindgut. The proximal half of the large intestine is a midgut derivative, while the rest of it belongs to the hindgut. This gives sense to the pattern of vascular supply of the large intestine:

• The midgut part, from ileocecal junction to the proximal two-thirds of the transverse colon, is supplied by the branches of the superior mesenteric artery.
• The hindgut part, from the final third of transverse colon to the termination of anal canal, is supplied by the branches of the inferior mesenteric artery and internal iliac artery.
• These terminal branches of the superior and inferior mesenteric arteries anastomose to form the marginal artery of colon (of Drummond), which contributes to the supply of the entire large intestine.

This video tutorial will help you understand the patterns of arterial supply of the large intestine and to learn the key facts about the blood vessels that are involved in it.

Take a quiz

To solidify your knowledge and get ready for your exam, try out our quiz:

To focus on and resolve any weak spots, try out our fully customizable quiz which gives you full control on which terms and and topics you will get quizzed on:

Browse atlas

Browse our atlas gallery to solidify your knowledge:

Summary