A rare morphological variation of the coeliac trunk in a Sri Lankan cadaver

The classic branches of the coeliac trunk are the left gastric, common hepatic and the splenic arteries. In a routine dissection of a 72year old male cadaver at the Faculty of Medicine, University Sri Lanka a variation of five branches originating directly from the abdominal aorta at the level of the origin of coeliac trunk was observed; left gastric artery, splenic artery, main hepatic artery, first direct hepatic branch and second direct hepatic branch. This deviation from three main classic branches of coeliac trunk to five direct branches is a very rare occurrence. Records of this type of vascular patterns are really important in planning and performing abdominal surgical and radiological procedures as well as radiological interventions.