Superior mesenteric artery

The superior mesenteric artery is the second major branch of the abdominal aorta. It supplies the small intestine from the second part of the duodenum, the head of the pancreas, and the large intestine as far as the splenic flexure. (StatPearls, Abdomen and Pelvis: Superior Mesenteric Artery; OpenStax A&P 2e, 20.5)

Latin arteria mesenterica superior (Wikipedia, Superior mesenteric artery, CC BY-SA 4.0) · FMA14749 · Cardiovascular system

The great vessels from the left side, all faded except the superior mesenteric artery, highlighted leaving the front of the abdominal aorta below the celiac artery. — The superior mesenteric artery in place, seen from the left. Render: ScienceQuest, CC BY 4.0. Meshes: BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0

The superior mesenteric artery on its own, seen from the front. — The superior mesenteric artery alone, seen from the front. Render: ScienceQuest, CC BY 4.0. Meshes: BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0

Open it in the Great Vessels Explorer See it alone in 3D

Where is the superior mesenteric artery?

It leaves the front of the aorta at the level of L1, below the celiac trunk and above the renal arteries. (StatPearls, Abdomen and Pelvis: Superior Mesenteric Artery)

What does the superior mesenteric artery supply?

It supplies the third part of the duodenum, the jejunum, the ileum, the cecum, the ascending colon and the proximal transverse colon. (StatPearls, Abdomen and Pelvis: Superior Mesenteric Artery)

Its inferior pancreaticoduodenal branch, with the superior pancreaticoduodenal artery, supplies the head of the pancreas. (StatPearls, Abdomen and Pelvis: Superior Mesenteric Artery)

Its right colic, ileocolic and middle colic branches supply the colon. The marginal artery of Drummond links them with the inferior mesenteric branches along the mesenteric border. (StatPearls, Abdomen and Pelvis: Superior Mesenteric Artery)

What lies in front of and behind the superior mesenteric artery?

In front lie the pylorus of the stomach, the neck of the pancreas and the splenic vein. Behind lie the uncinate process of the pancreas, the lower duodenum and the left renal vein. (StatPearls, Abdomen and Pelvis: Superior Mesenteric Artery)

The left renal vein passes between the aorta and the origin of the superior mesenteric artery. (StatPearls, Abdomen and Pelvis: Superior Mesenteric Artery)

The superior mesenteric vein joins the splenic vein at about L2 to form the hepatic portal vein. (OpenStax A&P 2e, 20.5; Gray’s Anatomy (1918), The Portal System of Veins; StatPearls, Abdomen and Pelvis: Superior Mesenteric Vein)

How did the superior mesenteric artery form?

It grows from one of the paired ventral segmental arteries of the embryo’s dorsal aorta. The 10th, 13th and 21st persist as the celiac trunk and the superior and inferior mesenteric arteries. (StatPearls, Abdomen and Pelvis: Celiac Trunk)

Where the sources differ

The sources give different gaps between it and the celiac trunk: about 2.5 cm in OpenStax, about 1 cm in StatPearls. (OpenStax A&P 2e, 20.5; StatPearls, Abdomen and Pelvis: Superior Mesenteric Artery)

The superior mesenteric artery at a glance
Feature	Detail and source
Arises from	Front of the abdominal aorta, at L1 (StatPearls, Abdomen and Pelvis: Superior Mesenteric Artery)
Supplies	Small intestine, head of the pancreas, large intestine as far as the splenic flexure (OpenStax A&P 2e, 20.5; StatPearls, Abdomen and Pelvis: Superior Mesenteric Artery)
Colic branches	Right colic, ileocolic, middle colic (StatPearls, Abdomen and Pelvis: Superior Mesenteric Artery)

Touches in this model

Measured on the BodyParts3D meshes: surfaces within 2 mm of the superior mesenteric artery, nearest first.

Descending aorta in contact
Left renal artery in contact
Left renal vein in contact
Pancreas in contact
Superior mesenteric vein 0.2 mm away
Right renal artery 1.4 mm away

Sources

StatPearls, Anatomy, Abdomen and Pelvis: Superior Mesenteric Artery. Adekunle E. Omole; Arshia Khorasani-Zadeh. Last update September 14, 2026. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Read 2026-10-25.
OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology 2e, section 20.5, Circulatory Pathways. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Read 2026-10-25.
Anatomy of the Human Body (Gray’s Anatomy), 20th US edition, 1918, Angiology, The Portal System of Veins, the portal vein; Internet Archive scan of the 1918 Lea and Febiger printing, terminology of 1918. Henry Gray; edited by Warren H. Lewis. Public domain. Read 2026-10-25.
StatPearls, Anatomy, Abdomen and Pelvis: Superior Mesenteric Vein. Andrew Broussard; Chase J. Wehrle; Navdeep S. Samra. Last update August 8, 2023. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Read 2026-10-25.
StatPearls, Anatomy, Abdomen and Pelvis: Celiac Trunk. Dr. Rohin Garg; Ali Nassereddin; Tafline C. Arbor. Last update September 15, 2025. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Read 2026-10-25.