Expansion
Head from the pancreaticoduodenal arcades; body and tail from the splenic artery
Expansion
Head and uncinate process
- Superior pancreaticoduodenal artery, from the gastroduodenal artery (coeliac territory)
- Inferior pancreaticoduodenal artery, from the superior mesenteric artery (midgut territory)
- These form anterior and posterior arcades
Neck, body and tail
- Branches of the splenic artery: the dorsal pancreatic, greater pancreatic (arteria pancreatica magna) and caudal pancreatic arteries
Venous drainage is entirely into the portal system.
Because the head shares its arcades with the duodenum, the two cannot be separated surgically, which is precisely why removing the pancreatic head requires removing the duodenum as well, in a pancreaticoduodenectomy (Whipple procedure).