Left colic artery

Looks like

An artery to the side of the colon — the right from the superior mesenteric artery, the left from the inferior mesenteric artery.

What it does

Supplies the ascending or descending colon through ascending and descending branches.

Keeping it well

Removed with the lymph nodes in bowel cancer surgery; the right one is missing in many people.

Related conditions

• Aortic aneurysm
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Hypothermia & frostbite
• Ischaemic colitis
• Kawasaki disease
• Metabolic syndrome
• Orthostatic hypotension & POTS
• Peripheral artery disease
• Phaeochromocytoma & hyperaldosteronism
• Pre-eclampsia
• Raynaud's phenomenon
• Sepsis
• Shock (circulatory failure)
• Vasculitis (GCA & others)