Vascular occlusive disease of the mesenteric vessels is a relatively uncommon but potentially devastating condition that generally presents in patients over 60 years of age and has been recognized as an entity since 1936. The incidence of such a disease is low and represents 2 % of the revascularization operations for atheromatous lesions. The most common cause of mesenteric ischemia is atherosclerotic vascular disease. Autopsy studies have demonstrated splanchnic atherosclerosis in 35–70 % of cases. Other etiologies exist and include fibromuscular dysplasia, nodose panarteritis, arteritis, and celiac artery compression from a median arcuate ligament, but they are unusual and have an incidence of 1/9 compared to that of atherosclerosis.