Superior Mesenteric Artery Syndrome Essay

Superior Mesenteric Artery Syndrome is a rare gastrointestinal disorder. This syndrome can also be known as SMA Syndrome. It is a very rare acquired vascular compression disorder. IN this disorder the Aorta and Superior Mesenteric Artery compress on the intestine causing many digestive issues. The compression is caused when the angle between the two arteries is very low usually 6° to 15° or 2 to 8 mm. The normal angle between these two arteries is between 25° to 60° or 10 to 28 mm. The arteries compress either the second or third portion of the duodenum. The Superior Mesenteric Artery’s main purpose is to provide blood to many areas of the body including the small intestine, cecum, and colon. Von Rokitansky in 1861 was the first person to describe …show more content…
This disorder can also be associated with pancreatitis, peptic ulcers, and other intra-abdominal inflammatory conditions. There are multiple causes of this disorder. One of them is a narrow Superior Mesenteric Arty to Aorta distance also known a narrow aortomesenteric vascular angle, also, a relatively low Superior Mesenteric Artery origin. The other causes are excessive weight loss (causes of mesenteric and retroperitoneal lipid tissue loss, such as burns, anorexia, or cancer), severe injuries, surgical complications, and abnormal peritoneal attachments associated with duodenal malrotaion. There are many tests used to identify this syndrome. Although some tests show the syndrome clearly many doctors do not look for it because it is such a rare disorder. Some of the tests are an x-ray (this will show a dilated stomach filled with fluid or gas), a gastrointestinal endoscopy (this will eliminate the possibility of intraluminal pathologies), a fluoroscopy (this will show if there is dilation of the first and second part of the duodenum, acquired compression on the third