Right Gastric Artery, Posterior View

Description

Arising near the pylorus, the right gastric artery tracks along the lesser curvature of the stomach, running from right to left in the hepatogastric region and approaching its usual anastomosis with the left gastric artery. A posterior perspective places the vessel against the posterior gastric wall and lesser omentum, with the abdominal esophagus entering superiorly at the cardia and the duodenum continuing distally from the pyloric canal. The antrum sits inferior to the body of the stomach, and the angular incisure along the lesser curvature helps orient the transition between them. Small gastric branches can be inferred coursing from the right gastric artery into the adjacent gastric wall. This viewpoint matters when you need to understand the vascular supply along the lesser curvature where operative planes frequently run. During distal gastrectomy, antrectomy, or pyloroplasty, surgeons often identify and ligate the right gastric artery near its origin, most commonly from the proper hepatic artery, but with recognized variants arising from the common hepatic or gastroduodenal artery that can complicate hemostasis. Bleeding here is unforgiving. Common use cases include teaching foregut arterial anatomy in gross anatomy and surgical anatomy courses, illustrating operative steps and vascular control in upper GI surgery texts, and supporting clinical diagrams for peptic ulcer disease near the pylorus where adjacent vessels may be encountered during endoscopic or surgical management. It also fits radiology and interventional education when correlating lesser-curvature vascular territory with catheter angiography or CT angiographic schematics. Anatomical accuracy verified by SciePro's Medical Advisory Board.