Anatomical variants of the celiac artery in the sheep, with special reference to the celiomesenteric arterial trunk.

The course of celiac artery is described on the basis of studies on the carcases of 28 three-year old merino sheep of both sexes (7 males and 21 females). These investigations have shown that there are two main variants of the celiac artery. Of these, 60.7 percent of the sheep dissected exhibited the first, characterized by a separate issue of the celiac artery from the aorta. The second variant, characterized by the issue of the celiac artery from a celiomesenteric arterial trunk common to the celiac and superior mesenteric arteries, was found in 39.3 percent of the specimens. In the material studies, besides the variability in the course of the celiac artery, individual differences were found in the structure and topography of the neurovegetative vascular plexuses.