## 4 Discussion  
Anatomical knowledge of the variation and anatomy of the CT is of great importance, as the CT supplies abdominal organs that are involved in abdominal surgeries. A major example of that is cholecystectomy, which is considered one of the most common abdominal surgeries. The complications in the surgery even though they are rare are mainly attributed to anatomical variation. These anatomical variations could be vascular (due to the presence of an accessory cystic artery) or variations in the anatomy of the cystic duct. Other abdominal surgeries like liver transplants, gastrectomy, and Whipple procedures also require precise knowledge of the anatomy of the CT and its branches, along with the possible variations [6]. Due to the folding of the embryo, the paired dorsal aorta will fuse to form a single aorta. This aorta will give to three sets of branches: (i) ventral branches that supply the gut and gut derivatives; (ii) lateral branches that supply the retroperitoneal structures, such as the kidneys, suprarenal glands, and gonads; and (iii) intersegmental arteries, which penetrate the somites and contribute to the formation of the arteries of the head, neck, body wall, and vertebral column. The blood vessels that arise from the yolk sac differentiate  
Figure 7: A computed tomography scan of a patient in sagittal and axial view. In the sagittal view, it is shown that the left gastric artery (LGA) takes direct origin from the abdominal aorta. In the axial view, it is shown that the celiac trunk (CT) branches into the splenic artery (SA) and the common hepatic artery (CHA) branches into the superior mesenteric artery (SMA). from the vitelline vessels. As the embryo folds, the two vitelline arteries will coalesce into several arteries that will anastomose with the future GIT and the ventral surface of the dorsal aorta [7]. Eventually, these arteries will lose their connection to the yolk sac and become the arteries that arise from the dorsal aorta and supply blood to the GIT [7]. Below the diaphragm, three major arteries arise, each supplying a part of the gut. The most cranial branch is the CT, and it supplies the foregut. Inferior to it is the second branch, the superior mesenteric artery, which supplies the midgut. The most caudal branch is the inferior mesenteric artery, which supplies the hindgut. The CT initially joins the abdominal aorta at the level of the 7 th cervical vertebra. This connection will descend eventually until it reaches the 12 th thoracic vertebra. After its descent, the CT will supply the part of the GIT from the distal esophagus to the proximal part of the duodenum (up to the major duodenal papilla). Moreover, it will supply the other organs that are derived from the foregut, like the liver, which arises from the hepatic bud, and the pancreas, which arises from two outgrowths from the endoderm lining the duodenum, gallbladder, and spleen [7]. The difference in the branching patterns of the CT was hypothesized by [PERSON] in 1904. He described it originally as there being a longitudinal anastomosis between the four roots of the vitelline artery. The two central roots will regress so the longitudinal artery will connect the first root to the fourth root. The three branches of the CT, i.e., the SA, LGA, and CHA, arise from the longitudinal anastomosis and are separated from the fourth root (future SMA) below the last of the three branches. If the separation takes place at a higher level, one of the three branches will take origin from the superior mesenteric artery (giving rise to the hepatogastric trunk, gastrosplenic trunk, and hepatospheric trunk). Furthermore, if the first root or the fourth root (which normally persists) regresses, this will result in the formation of the celiacomesenteric trunk [8]. The difference in the length and diameter of the CT between genders has been a subject of research. A study was carried out by [PERSON] et al.