2025, Volume 18, Issue 1, pp 60 – 66

The celiac ganglia and trunk: an assessment of anatomical variants and their clinical relevance

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Authors and Affiliations

Corresponding author Diana-Theodora Morgos Doctoral School, Discipline of Anatomy, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania E-mail: theodora.morgos@drd.umfcd.ro

Abstract

The celiac ganglia are a network of nerve fibers that regulate various functions related to digestion, while the celiac trunk is a major artery that supplies oxygenated blood to the stomach, small intestine, and other organs in the upper abdominal region. Anatomical variants of these structures are common and can have significant implications for surgical and medical procedures. This prospective observational study was conducted over one year and included 300 patients (aged 45-75 years) with a history of peripheral arterial disease, evaluated at Dr. Carol Davila Central Military Emergency Hospital Bucharest, Romania, using a Philips Spectral CT 7500. The study identified three major anatomical variants of the celiac trunk, each associated with different positional distributions of the celiac ganglia. In cases where the celiac trunk presented as a hepatosplenic trunk with the left gastric artery originating from the abdominal aorta, the lateral position of the celiac ganglia was most prevalent. When the hepatosplenic trunk included the left gastric artery arising from the splenic artery, the postero-lateral position of the celiac ganglia was the most frequently observed. In patients with a hepatogastric trunk, where the splenic artery originated from the superior mesenteric artery, the lateral position of the celiac ganglia was again the most common. Statistical analysis reveals a t-statistic of 7.391 and 11.319 with a P value of 0.002. This article reviewed the anatomical variants of the celiac ganglia and their anatomical variants, highlighting their prevalence, clinical significance, and implications for surgical and interventional procedures.

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About this article

PMC ID: 11891612
PubMed ID: 
DOI: 10.25122/jml-2025-0015

Article Publishing Date (print): 1 2025
Available Online: 

Journal information

ISSN Printing: 1844-122X
ISSN Online: 1844-3117
Journal Title: Journal of Medicine and Life

Copyright License: Open Access

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.


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