How to improve the description of superior mesenteric artery occlusions in acute mesenteric ischemia: A new computed tomography anatomic segmentation

Acute mesenteric ischemia (AMI) is an intestinal vascular emergency and one of the most severe ischemic syndromes. For stroke or myocardial infarction, arterial segmentations were proposed as early as 1938 and 1975, respectively. These segmentations - used on a daily basis - made it possible to harmonize practices and standardize neurovascular and coronary studies. There is no such standardization in AMI, but the vital and functional prognostic challenge is of the same order. In addition, the lack of a standardized description of superior mesenteric artery (SMA) lesions limits the interpretation and comparability of the studies. The objective of this work was to propose an anatomical segmentation of the SMA to develop a common language regarding the SMA.