The marginal artery of the colon, or artery of Drummond, is an artery that runs along the inside border of the large intestine, ending at the rectum. This blood vessel connects the inferior mesenteric artery to the superior mesenteric artery and is formed from branches of the right colic, left colic, ileocolic, and middle colic arteries.
Together, Drummond’s artery and the internal iliac arteries carry oxygen-rich blood to the large intestine. In situations in which the internal iliac arteries are not capable of supplying blood to the intestine (such as after repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm), the marginal artery of the colon is large enough to perform this function on its own. In some people the marginal artery of Drummond is absent from the intestinal area. When this occurs, the internal iliac arteries are able carry blood to the large intestine without it.
In some cases, the marginal artery of the colon branches off to the middle colic artery. Such variances are quite rare, and their causes are unknown.