Subgross and macroscopic investigation of the coeliac artery in the chinchilla (chinchilla lanigera)

The knowledge of branching and variations of the coeliac artery is clinicallyimportant, especially in the surgical operations and non-surgical treatments.Moreover, the chinchillas abdominal region have been used as a model in somesurgical experimental researches. In this frame, we have aimed to explain thebranching of this artery in the chinchillas detailedly. A total of 10 adult, healthy,male chinchillas (chinchilla lanigera) were used to investigate the origin and thecourse of the coeliac artery and its branches. Coloured latex was injected intothe carotid arteries, following conventional anatomical applications. The resultsindicated that the coeliac artery was divided into 4 branches such as left gastricartery, hepatic artery, splenic artery and gastrolienal artery. The left gastric arterywas a continuity of the coeliac artery and the main vessel of the stomach. Thehepatic artery was divided into the left lateral branch, the left medial branch andthe right branch. The splenic artery was covered by the pancreas tissue and sentbranches to the pancreas. The gastrolienal artery was supplying the fundus ofthe stomach and the dorsal extremity of the spleen. We believe that the findingswill be of help to the researchers interested in the anatomical area, surgeons andexperimental researches