The celiac artery is a wide blood-vessel that springs from the front of the uppermost part of the abdominal aorta, and after a very short course forward – about half an inch – divides into three arteries – the splenic artery, the hepatic artery, and the left gastric artery. These three arteries then diverge widely from one another, and are distributed to the lowest part of the esophagus, the stomach, the first two parts of the duodenum, the liver, the pancreas – all derived from the abdominal part of the embryonic foregut – and the spleen, developed in the dorsal mesogastrium. The celiac artery is between the crura of the diaphragm and behind the lesser sac opposite the lesser omentum. The celiac plexus of sympathetic nerves surrounds it and sends secondary plexuses along its three branches.