Gastroduodenal artery

Last revised by Raymond Chieng on 22 Jun 2023

The gastroduodenal artery (GDA) is a terminal branch of the common hepatic artery which mainly supplies the pylorus of the stomach, proximal duodenum, and the head of the pancreas. Due to its proximity to the posterior wall of the first part of the duodenum, the gastroduodenal artery is one of the most important sources of upper gastrointestinal bleeding - mostly secondary to peptic ulcer disease or erosive malignant ulcers.

Gross anatomy

The gastroduodenal artery is a terminal branch of the common hepatic artery along with the proper hepatic artery.

It passes inferiorly behind the first part of the duodenum to the left of the common bile duct where it gives off the supraduodenal artery. Inferiorly, the gastroduodenal artery relates with the head of pancreas 4. More inferiorly it bifurcates into 2 arteries at the upper border of the pancreas:

Variant anatomy

The transverse pancreatic artery may arise from the GDA rather than the splenic artery.

A single or double cystic artery may arise from the GDA.

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