Last week we discussed SMA Syndrome, which basically was caused by rapid weight loss and a loss of a fat pad that changed the angle between two major blood vessels causing compression of the duodenum.

And that got me thinking,

are there other conditions in which this could occur?

And it turns out there are a few more.

The most notable is known as Celiac artery compression syndrome,

and it's one that's caused by the median arcuate ligament

causing problems in a similar fashion.

So I'm Dr. Nakede-Slonpal,

your friendly neighborhood internist and gastrointestinal

o'entrologist here to kind of go over a few more vascular conditions of the GI

tract, they're going to show up in your office rarely, but when they do,

they're going to be important to know.

Why?

Because your patients are going to feel a lot better once you figure it out.

So join me, cue that music, and let's fire it up. So what is Celiac artery compression syndrome? Well it used to be called

median argument syndrome but that doesn't give you too much information.

We used to call it Dunbar Syndrome, Ciliac Access Syndrome, but basically

it's a diagnosis of exclusion and it's a triad. It's a triad of symptoms of postprandial abdominal pain, significant weight loss, and sometimes

if you listen to the belly, a brewery.

So what exactly is going on here?

Well, first, let's go ahead and talk a little bit about some anatomy that actually allows for the pathophysology to occur.

So the median arcuate ligament is a fibrous arch. Think of it as kind of connective tissue that bridges over the aorta and connects the two

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