Ileocolic artery

The Ileocolic Artery is the lowest branch arising from the concavity of the superior mesenteric artery.

It passes downward and to the right behind the peritoneum toward the right iliac fossa, where it divides into a superior and an inferior branch; the inferior anastomoses with the end of the superior mesenteric artery, the superior with the right colic artery.

Branches
The inferior branch of the ileocolic runs toward the upper border of the ileocolic junction and supplies the following branches:


 * colic, which pass upward on the ascending colon
 * iliocecal (some sources acknowledge this division while others do not)
 * anterior and posterior cecal, which are distributed to the front and back of the cecum
 * ileal, which run upward and to the left on the lower part of the ileum, and anastomose with the termination of the superior mesenteric
 * an appendicular artery