Accessory appendicular artery

Dr Daniel J Bell ◉ and Dr Abhinav Ranwaka et al.

The accessory appendicular artery, also known as the artery of Seshachalam, is a branch of the posterior cecal artery. It arises from the ileocolic artery, and runs in the mesoappendix.

The exact prevalence of this accessory artery and its impact upon the risk of appendicitis varies among studies.

History and etymology

Accessory appendiceal arteries were described as early as 1905 ^3,4. A prominent Indian surgeon, T Sheshachalam, also described the appendiceal vascularization, including accessory appendiceal arteries, in 1930 ⁵, and so the vessel sometimes bears his name (anecdotally it is most commonly found in the Indian medical literature).