Dissection 07 – Abdominal Vasculature

Key Concepts: Students will understand the neurovascular supply to the abdominal organs. There are three unpaired branches of the aorta that supply the gut and accessory organs, and you will consider where they anastomose. The venous drainage of the abdominal viscera is via a unique system, the hepatic portal system, which transports blood to the liver before it enters the general circulation. Because of the relatively high prevalence of liver disease, you will learn the collateral connections between the portal and caval system of veins and the clinical consequences of portal vein obstruction. The tough, stringy material on the surfaces of these and virtually all vessels in the abdomen are fibers of the autonomic plexuses.