{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.middle-colic-artery","code":"thing-q707115","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q707115/","name":"middle colic artery","alternateNames":[],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.1.0-research.1","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.LIV"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"The middle colic artery is a visceral artery that usually arises from the superior mesenteric artery, travels within the transverse mesocolon, and supplies much of the transverse colon through branches that communicate with neighbouring colic arteries.","purpose":"Enable an agent to identify a middle colic artery, record its individual anatomy and vascular state, and support review of actions that may affect transverse-colon perfusion.","scope":{"in":["Identification of the middle colic arterial trunk and its branches in an individual","Origin, course, branching configuration and anatomical variants","Observed transverse-colon supply and connections with neighbouring arterial territories","Segment-specific lumen, wall and blood-flow observations","Evidence and anatomical dependencies relevant to preservation or intervention"],"out":["The complete superior or inferior mesenteric arterial tree","Middle colic venous anatomy and venous drainage","Colon structure, motility and disease except as linked perfusion observations","Independent models of accessory arteries or other neighbouring vessels","Whole-patient diagnosis, treatment selection and procedural technique"],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Trace the vessel's parent artery and colonic destination together: a typical middle colic artery arises from the superior mesenteric artery and supplies mainly the transverse colon, but origin alone cannot exclude a variant. [Anatomical case study](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3496547/)","Distinguish the middle colic trunk from a right colic branch by tracing their branch junction and destinations; a right colic artery can arise from the middle colic root or its right branch. [Anatomical study](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5392897/)","Require demonstrated arterial continuity to distinguish it from a nearby vein; proximity and a shared regional name do not establish vessel identity.","Separate the supplying trunk and branches from the longitudinal marginal arterial connection along the colon by recording their topology.","Document the naming convention before classifying an additional transverse-colon feeder as accessory middle colic; published anatomical studies use explicit operational definitions. [Cadaveric and CT angiography study](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9901106/)"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"identity-and-boundaries","name":"Identity and boundaries","description":"Establish which observed vessel instantiates the registered middle colic artery.","layers":[{"id":"vessel-identification","name":"Vessel identification","description":"Connect a candidate vessel to evidence of arterial identity and colonic destination.","findings":[{"id":"candidate-vessel-identity","name":"Candidate vessel identity","description":"Record the anatomical trace supporting identification, including any unobserved portions.","questions":[{"text":"What observed continuity connects this candidate vessel to its parent artery and transverse-colon branches?","id":"candidate-vessel-identity-q01","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which image series, dissection or operative observation supports identification as an artery rather than a nearby vein?","id":"candidate-vessel-identity-q02","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"naming-and-instance","name":"Naming and instance","description":"Separate the registered anatomical kind, individual vessel and neighbouring named vessels.","findings":[{"id":"middle-colic-naming-boundary","name":"Middle colic naming boundary","description":"Preserve the individual's vessel identity and the convention used for additional or shared-origin feeders.","questions":[{"text":"Which person or specimen and examination date does this middle colic artery record describe?","id":"middle-colic-naming-boundary-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"How does the cited naming convention distinguish this vessel from an accessory middle colic artery or a right colic branch?","id":"middle-colic-naming-boundary-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"origin-course-and-branching","name":"Origin, course and branching","description":"Represent the observed middle colic arterial route and branch topology.","layers":[{"id":"parent-and-proximal-course","name":"Parent and proximal course","description":"Locate the origin and trace the proximal vessel through its anatomical surroundings.","findings":[{"id":"origin-and-landmarks","name":"Origin and landmarks","description":"Record the demonstrated parent vessel, shared-origin relationships and proximal landmarks.","questions":[{"text":"From which artery does the identified middle colic vessel arise, and does it share a trunk with another named branch?","id":"origin-and-landmarks-q01","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"What is its observed course relative to the pancreas, transverse mesocolon and superior mesenteric vessels?","id":"origin-and-landmarks-q02","kind":"measurement"}]}]},{"id":"distal-branch-configuration","name":"Distal branch configuration","description":"Describe the actual division pattern without requiring a single right-left bifurcation.","findings":[{"id":"branch-map-and-dimensions","name":"Branch map and dimensions","description":"Link named or provisionally labelled branches to their junctions and measured segments.","questions":[{"text":"Which observed branches travel toward the right and left portions of the transverse colon, and where do they originate?","id":"branch-map-and-dimensions-q01","kind":"definition"},{"text":"What are the measured trunk length and branch calibers, using which endpoints and imaging planes?","id":"branch-map-and-dimensions-q02","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Does apparent duplication or absence reflect demonstrated anatomy or incomplete visualization?","id":"branch-map-and-dimensions-q03","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"territory-and-collateral-supply","name":"Territory and collateral supply","description":"Connect the artery to observed bowel supply and alternative arterial routes.","layers":[{"id":"bowel-supply-map","name":"Bowel supply map","description":"Identify bowel segments associated with each observed middle colic branch.","findings":[{"id":"territory-evidence","name":"Territory evidence","description":"Separate demonstrated perfusion from an anatomical estimate of branch destination.","questions":[{"text":"Which transverse-colon segments or flexures are linked to each middle colic branch in this individual?","id":"territory-evidence-q01","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"Was the territory established by vessel tracing, selective contrast filling, an intraoperative assessment or an anatomical assumption?","id":"territory-evidence-q02","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"alternative-supply-paths","name":"Alternative supply paths","description":"Trace connections to neighbouring colic arteries and assess what is known about their function.","findings":[{"id":"collateral-continuity-and-capacity","name":"Collateral continuity and capacity","description":"Record alternative routes separately from evidence of their ability to sustain bowel perfusion.","questions":[{"text":"Which connections through the marginal artery or another identified route link middle colic branches to neighbouring arterial territories?","id":"collateral-continuity-and-capacity-q01","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"What observation, if any, demonstrates functional alternative supply rather than anatomical continuity alone?","id":"collateral-continuity-and-capacity-q02","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Which bowel segments require further perfusion assessment before an action affecting this artery can be evaluated?","id":"collateral-continuity-and-capacity-q03","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"vascular-state-and-observation","name":"Vascular state and observation","description":"Record the artery's assessed condition and the limits of the examination.","layers":[{"id":"segment-condition","name":"Segment condition","description":"Localize lumen, wall and flow observations to a specific middle colic segment.","findings":[{"id":"localized-vascular-abnormality","name":"Localized vascular abnormality","description":"Describe observed abnormalities without assigning an unsupported cause or bowel consequence.","questions":[{"text":"Which trunk or branch segment is patent, narrowed, occluded, dilated or otherwise abnormal?","id":"localized-vascular-abnormality-q01","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"What measurements and reference segment support the description of any caliber abnormality?","id":"localized-vascular-abnormality-q02","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"What evidence links this arterial finding to a bowel perfusion abnormality, if one is reported?","id":"localized-vascular-abnormality-q03","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"visibility-and-change","name":"Visibility and change","description":"Qualify observations by acquisition conditions and comparability over time.","findings":[{"id":"assessment-confidence","name":"Assessment confidence","description":"Preserve unresolved segments and distinguish interval change from differences in examination quality.","questions":[{"text":"Which middle colic segments were adequately visualized, and which were limited by contrast timing, resolution, motion or operative exposure?","id":"assessment-confidence-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Does a reported interval change compare the same arterial segment under sufficiently comparable examination conditions?","id":"assessment-confidence-q02","kind":"measurement"}]}]}]},{"id":"intervention-dependencies","name":"Intervention dependencies","description":"Relate proposed or completed actions to the specific arterial anatomy and supplied bowel.","layers":[{"id":"proposed-action-review","name":"Proposed action review","description":"Make the anatomical target and unresolved supply dependencies explicit for clinical review.","findings":[{"id":"target-and-dependent-territory","name":"Target and dependent territory","description":"Record the proposed vessel alteration, its precise location and the anatomy needed to assess its consequences.","questions":[{"text":"Does the proposed action affect the middle colic origin, common trunk, rightward branch, leftward branch or a more distal segment?","id":"target-and-dependent-territory-q01","kind":"action"},{"text":"Which other branches and bowel territories depend on the targeted segment according to the observed arterial map?","id":"target-and-dependent-territory-q02","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"What unresolved identity or perfusion evidence must the responsible clinician review before deciding on the action?","id":"target-and-dependent-territory-q03","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"documented-alteration","name":"Documented alteration","description":"Track completed changes to the middle colic artery and subsequent observations.","findings":[{"id":"post-intervention-anatomy","name":"Post-intervention anatomy","description":"Maintain a dated account of preserved, interrupted or reconstructed arterial continuity.","questions":[{"text":"Which middle colic segments were preserved, ligated, embolized, reconstructed or otherwise altered, and which procedural record confirms this?","id":"post-intervention-anatomy-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"What subsequent observations document residual arterial continuity and perfusion of the associated bowel territory?","id":"post-intervention-anatomy-q02","kind":"measurement"}]}]}]},{"id":"evidence-and-external-alignment","name":"Evidence and external alignment","description":"What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.","layers":[{"id":"reported-evidence","name":"Reported evidence","description":"Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.","findings":[{"id":"evidence-confidence-notes","name":"Check these first","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these check these first hold for the sense of middle colic artery this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-confidence-notes-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-identifiers","name":"Identifiers and schemes","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of middle colic artery this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-identifiers-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-standards-and-regulation","name":"Standards and regulation","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of middle colic artery this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-standards-and-regulation-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-real-world-use","name":"Real-world use","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of middle colic artery this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-real-world-use-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards","name":"Failure modes and hazards","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of middle colic artery this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-neighbours","name":"Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart","description":"Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of middle colic artery this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-neighbours-q01","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Describe the middle colic artery and its typical course from reliable anatomical sources.","Label it on anatomical diagrams and teaching images."],"mustNot":["Diagnose bowel ischaemia or bleeding in a particular person.","Advise a person with severe abdominal pain to wait instead of seeking urgent care.","Interpret an individual's scan as a clinical finding.","Present identifiable patient images without consent."],"requiresHuman":["Any surgical or interventional decision affecting the artery."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Injury to this artery during surgery can deprive part of the colon of blood.","Variations between people make careful clinical judgement essential."],"affectedParties":["Patients undergoing abdominal surgery","Surgeons and radiologists"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody owns it; it is part of each person's body, and the treating clinician answers for its care.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q112826975","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q66568445","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.middle-colic-artery","Wikidata: Q707115 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q707115)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["Instance and identification confidence: Person or specimen reference; confirmed, probable, indeterminate or not visualized","Parent vessel and origin configuration: Identified parent vessel; separate origin, shared trunk, other observed configuration or unresolved","Branch topology: Observed trunk-to-branch connections with rightward and leftward destinations","Course and landmark relationships: Observed relationships to transverse mesocolon, pancreas, superior mesenteric vessels and colon","Segment caliber: Millimetres, with segment, measurement plane, modality and acquisition date","Trunk length: Millimetres along the vessel centreline between explicitly identified endpoints","Supplied bowel territory: Mapped bowel segments; directly observed, inferred or unresolved","Collateral connections: Connected arterial segments; demonstrated continuity, suspected continuity or unresolved","Vascular condition: Segment-specific patency, narrowing, occlusion, dilation, wall abnormality or indeterminate assessment","Intervention status: No documented intervention, preserved, ligated, embolized, reconstructed or other documented alteration"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["A branch of the superior mesenteric artery running in the fold of tissue that holds the transverse colon.","Divides into right and left branches that join neighbouring colic arteries."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["Annotate a candidate middle colic artery and trace its parent vessel and branches on available imaging.","Compare an individual's configuration with a named anatomical classification while preserving exceptions.","Map bowel territories and connected vessels potentially affected by a specified trunk or branch alteration.","Flag unresolved identity, incomplete visualization or unsupported assumptions about collateral perfusion for specialist review.","Compare dated observations to track segment-specific vascular changes.","Record a clinician's planned or completed intervention and link it to the affected arterial segment."]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Interruption of blood flow can cause ischaemia of the transverse colon.","Anatomical variation can lead to accidental injury in surgery."]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Terminologia Anatomica, maintained by the Federative International Programme for Anatomical Terminology of the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists, provides standardized anatomical nomenclature for the middle colic artery."]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["The middle colic artery supplies much of the transverse colon and participates in connections with adjacent colonic arterial territories.","Its course and branching are assessed in abdominal imaging and surgical planning where preservation of colonic blood supply matters."]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q707115: middle colic artery","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q707115","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Middle colic artery","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_colic_artery","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Does the registry intend specifically human anatomy, as assumed here, or should species-specific middle colic anatomy be supported?","Which anatomical terminology authority and variant classification should govern accessory, duplicated, replaced and shared-trunk configurations?","What modality-specific evidence is sufficient to distinguish true absence of a middle colic trunk from nonvisualization?","Which validated assessment methods can establish territory-specific collateral adequacy when a middle colic segment may be interrupted?","Which population- and modality-specific reference data support caliber and trunk-length interpretation without treating variation as disease?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q707115/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q707115/spec.json"],"providers":["Codex"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-12T11:19:34Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T10:10:32+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass"},"score":1.0}}