Department of Surgery, Catharina Hospital, Postbus 1350, 5602 ZA, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Tytgat Institute for Liver and Intestinal Research, Amsterdam UMCUniversity of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Surg Radiol Anat. 2021 Mar;43(3):377-384. doi: 10.1007/s00276-020-02598-1. Epub 2020 Oct 26.
To evaluate the morphology and course of the splenic artery, which might impact the surgical implantation of systems that stimulate the nerves surrounding the splenic artery. Experimental studies indicate that these nerves play an important part in immune modulation, and might be a potential target in the treatment of autoimmune diseases.
This retrospective cohort study made use of contrast-enhanced CT images from 40 male and 40 female patients (age 30-69) that underwent a CT examination of the aorta, kidneys or pancreas. Anatomic features were described including total splenic artery length, calibers, tortuosity, the presence of arterial loops and the branching pattern of the splenic artery.
No age-gender-related differences could be found related to tortuosity or branching pattern. The length of splenic artery in contact with pancreatic tissue decreased with increasing age, but was not different between genders. Artery diameters were wider in male compared to female subjects. Loops of variable directions, that represent a part of the artery that curls out of the pancreatic tissue, were identified in each age-gender category and were present in nearly all subjects (86%).
This study suggests that although some anatomic features of the splenic artery are subject to factors as age and gender, the tortuosity of the splenic artery is not age dependent. Most subjects had one or multiple loops, which can serve as a target for neuromodulatory devices. Future studies should investigate whether splenic nerve stimulation is safe and feasible.
评估脾动脉的形态和走行，这可能会影响到刺激脾动脉周围神经的系统的外科植入。实验研究表明，这些神经在免疫调节中起着重要作用，可能是治疗自身免疫性疾病的潜在靶点。
本回顾性队列研究利用了 40 名男性和 40 名女性（年龄 30-69 岁）接受主动脉、肾脏或胰腺 CT 检查的增强 CT 图像。描述了包括脾动脉总长度、口径、迂曲度、动脉环的存在以及脾动脉的分支模式等解剖特征。
未发现与迂曲度或分支模式相关的年龄-性别差异。与胰腺组织接触的脾动脉长度随年龄增长而减少，但在性别间无差异。男性的动脉直径比女性宽。在每个年龄-性别类别中都可以识别出各种方向的环，这些环代表了一部分从胰腺组织中卷曲出来的动脉，几乎所有的受试者（86%）都存在这种环。
本研究表明，尽管脾动脉的一些解剖特征受到年龄和性别等因素的影响，但脾动脉的迂曲度与年龄无关。大多数受试者都有一个或多个环，这些环可以作为神经调节装置的目标。未来的研究应探讨脾神经刺激是否安全可行。
