Anatomic study of the superior right colic vein: its relevance to pancreatic and colonic surgery

A comparative study on the short-term clinicopathologic outcomes of laparoscopic surgery versus conventional open surgery for transverse colon cancer

“…It is particularly important for the laparoscopic colorectal surgeon to understand precisely the relationship of the ''right and middle'' colic vein to the gastrocolic trunk of Henle because excessive and inadvertent traction of the transverse mesocolon during dissection around the middle colic vein can be a cause of venous bleeding, which usually is not easily controlled using laparoscopic techniques. Furthermore, the gastrocolic trunk of Henle is relatively short, and attempts to control bleeding from it can cause injury to the superior mesenteric vein [18,19], which may prove to be lethal.…”

Anatomy of the transverse colon revisited with respect to complete mesocolic excision and possible pathways of aberrant lymphatic tumor spread

“…Although commonly not mirrored in anatomical textbooks, it has been described by several authors that the colic vein draining the region of the hepatic flexure, called the superior right colic vein, joins with the right gastroepiploic vein to form a short venous trunk that ends in the superior mesenteric vein [13,14,19,20]. This trunk was first described as the gastrocolic vein by Henle in 1868 [21].…”

“…Many variants of this venous confluence have been found. Quite commonly, an anterior pancreaticoduodenal vein contributes to Henle's trunk as does the right colic vein and rarely even the middle colic vein [14,18,19,22]. There is still a debate on whether this pancreaticoduodenal vein belongs to the anterior-inferior or to the anteriorsuperior arcade [23,24].…”

A New Approach to Laparoscopic Lymph Node Excision in Cases of Transverse Colon Cancer

“…Bifurcation of the middle colic artery and GTH from the superior mesenteric artery and vein occurs at the base of the transverse colon mesentery; further, these vessels are in complex contact with the pancreas and duodenum. Also, the form of bifurcation of the veins entering the GTH from the colon is quite variable [14,15,16]. According to Ignjatovic et al [17], the GTH is relatively short, therefore traction of the transverse mesocolon can tear the GTH, potentially resulting in troublesome bleeding.…”