Final answer:
The most likely artery involved in a bleeding gastric ulcer is the left gastric artery, a branch of the celiac trunk. Alternatively, the right gastric artery may sometimes be affected.
Step-by-step explanation:
Patients with bleeding gastric ulcers typically experience pain due to irritation of the ulcerated gastric lining by acidic gastric juices. A peptic ulcer is a sore that develops in the lining of the stomach, known as a gastric ulcer, or the duodenum and is most often caused by infection with the bacterium Helicobacter pylori. When such an ulcer bleeds, it is likely due to the erosion of a blood vessel. In the case of a gastric ulcer, the most likely artery involved is a branch of the celiac trunk, particularly the left gastric artery or, less frequently, the right gastric artery, which is a branch of the common hepatic artery that also arises from the celiac trunk.