ABSTRACT
Mesenteric ischemia can occur from any of a myriad of conditions that decrease intestinal blood flow. Cappell divided these conditions into 1) secondary mesenteric ischemia due to extrinsic vascular compression or trauma (Table 1) and 2) primary mesenteric ischemia (mesenteric ischemic vasculopathy) resulting from arterial emboli, arterial or venous thrombi, low-flow states, or vasculitis. The esophagus receives its principal blood supply segmentally from small vessels from the aorta, right intercostal artery, bronchial arteries, inferior thyroid artery, left gastric artery, short gastric artery, and left phrenic artery. Vascular disease of the esophagus is extremely rare, except after surgical resection and in rare cases of vasculitis (Behçet’s syndrome). The stomach has numerous arterial inputs with rich collateralization, and vascular disease of the stomach also is extremely rare except for the reasons mentioned above for the esophagus.
