Replaced umbilical artery Yuval Oz, MD Article Published: Apr 5, 2004 Israel. In this fetus there is a abnormal origin of the umbilical artery. On the umbilical arteries arises (is replaced to) the superior mesenteric artery. This is visible in Fig 1. Note that the vessel that comes out in red from the aorta (then turns blue and back red) connects directly to the umbilical cord. There is a similar case in Case of the week # 13 Figure 1: The umbilical vein and ductus (left image) and the replaced artery (right). Note the large caliber of the vessel. Discussion Board Start a discussion about this article Add bookmark Bookmarked