iPedia Free Information Center

Information about Aortic Arch

Artery:
Plan of the branches.
The arch of the aorta, and its branches.
Latinarcus aortae
subject #142 547
Sourceascending aorta
Branchesbrachiocephalic artery, left common carotid artery, left subclavian artery
MeSH Aortic+Arch
Dorlands/Elsevier a_58/12150514
For the embryological structure, see Aortic arches.


The arch of the aorta (Transverse Aorta) begins at the level of the upper border of the second sternocostal articulation of the right side, and runs at first upward, backward, and to the left in front of the trachea; it is then directed backward on the left side of the trachea and finally passes downward on the left side of the body of the fourth thoracic vertebra, at the lower border of which it becomes continuous with the descending aorta.

It thus forms two curvatures: one with its convexity upward, the other with its convexity forward and to the left. Its upper border is usually about 2.5 cm. below the superior border to the manubrium sterni.

Relations

The arch of the aorta is covered anteriorly by the pleura and anterior margins of the lungs, and by the remains of the thymus.

As the vessel runs backward its left side is in contact with the left lung and pleura.

Passing downward on the left side of this part of the arch are four nerves; in order from before backward these are, the left phrenic, the lower of the superior cardiac branches of the left vagus, the superior cardiac branch of the left sympathetic, and the trunk of the left vagus.

As the left vagus nerve crosses the arch, it gives off its recurrent branch, which hooks around below the vessel and then passes upward on its right side.

The highest left intercostal vein runs obliquely upward and forward on the left side of the arch, between the phrenic and vagus nerves.

On the right are the deep part of the cardiac plexus, the left recurrent nerve, the esophagus, and the thoracic duct; the trachea lies behind and to the right of the vessel.

Above are the innominate, left common carotid, and left subclavian arteries, which arise from the convexity of the arch and are crossed close to their origins by the left innominate vein.

Below are the bifurcation of the pulmonary artery, the left bronchus, the ligamentum arteriosum, the superficial part of the cardiac plexus, and the left recurrent nerve.

The ligamentum arteriosum connects the commencement of the left pulmonary artery to the aortic arch.

Additional images


Diagram showing the origins of the main branches of the carotid arteries.

Front view of heart and lungs.

Course and distribution of the glossopharyngeal, vagus, and accessory nerves.




This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.
 •  • [ e]
Arteries of torso - chest
Pulmonary/
coronary		right coronary (sinuatrial nodal, atrioventricular nodal, atrial, right marginal, posterior interventricular) - left coronary (anterior interventricular, left circumflex, left marginal)
Ascending aortaaortic arch - brachiocephalic (thyreoidea ima) - common carotid
Subclavianinternal thoracic: anterior intercostal - pericardiacophrenic - terminal (musculophrenic, superior epigastric)
costocervical trunk: highest intercostal, deep cervical
Descending /
thoracic aorta		bronchial - esophageal - posterior intercostal - subcostal
Latin}}} 
Official status
Official language of: Vatican City
Used for official purposes, but not spoken in everyday speech
Regulated by: Opus Fundatum Latinitas
Roman Catholic Church
Language codes
ISO 639-1: la
ISO 639-2: lat
..... Click the link for more information.
The ascending aorta is about 5 cm. in length. It commences at the upper part of the base of the left ventricle, on a level with the lower border of the third costal cartilage behind the left half of the sternum; it passes obliquely upward, forward, and to the right, in the
..... Click the link for more information.
The brachiocephalic artery (or brachiocephalic trunk or innominate artery) is an artery of the mediastinum that supplies blood to the right arm and the head and neck.
..... Click the link for more information.
In human anatomy, the common carotid artery is an artery that supplies the head and neck with oxygenated blood; it divides in the neck to form the external and internal carotid arteries.
..... Click the link for more information.
In human anatomy, the subclavian artery is a major artery of the upper thorax that mainly supplies blood to the head and arms. It is located below the clavicle, hence the name. There is a left subclavian and a right subclavian.
..... Click the link for more information.
Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) is a huge controlled vocabulary (or metadata system) for the purpose of indexing journal articles and books in the life sciences. Created and updated by the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM), it is used by the MEDLINE/PubMed
..... Click the link for more information.
Elsevier, the world's largest publisher of medical and scientific literature, forms part of the Reed Elsevier group. Based in Amsterdam, the company has substantial operations in the UK, USA and elsewhere.
..... Click the link for more information.
aortic arches are a series of six paired embryological vascular structures which give rise to several major arteries. They are ventral to the dorsal aorta.

Specific arches

Arches 1 and 2

The first and second arches
..... Click the link for more information.
trachea, or windpipe, is a tube that has an inner diameter of about 20-25 mm and a length of about 10-16cm. It extends from the larynx to the primary (main) bronchi in mammals, and from the pharynx to the syrinx in birds, allowing the passage of air to the lungs.
..... Click the link for more information.
trachea, or windpipe, is a tube that has an inner diameter of about 20-25 mm and a length of about 10-16cm. It extends from the larynx to the primary (main) bronchi in mammals, and from the pharynx to the syrinx in birds, allowing the passage of air to the lungs.
..... Click the link for more information.
The thoracic vertebrae compose the middle segment of the vertebral column, between the cervical vertebrae and the lumbar vertebrae. They are intermediate in size between those of the cervical and lumbar regions; they increase in size as one proceeds down the spine, the upper
..... Click the link for more information.
The descending aorta is divided into two portions, the thoracic and abdominal, in correspondence with the two great cavities of the trunk in which it is situated.

Additional images




..... Click the link for more information.
pleurae. The outer pleura is attached to the chest wall and is known as the parietal pleura; the inner one is attached to the lung and other visceral tissues and is known as the visceral pleura.
..... Click the link for more information.
thymus is an organ located in the upper anterior portion of the chest cavity just behind the sternum. Hormones produced by this organ stimulate the production of certain infection-fighting cells. It is of central importance in the maturation of T cells.
..... Click the link for more information.
The phrenic nerve arises from the third, fourth, and fifth cervical spinal nerves (C3-C5) in humans. It arises from the fifth, sixth and seventh cervical spinal nerves (C5-7) in most domestic animals.
..... Click the link for more information.
The vagus nerve (also called pneumogastric nerve or cranial nerve X) is the tenth of twelve paired cranial nerves, and is the only nerve that starts in the brainstem (within the medulla oblongata) and extends, through the jugular foramen, down below the head, to the
..... Click the link for more information.
The word sympathetic means different things in different contexts.
  • In neurology, the sympathetic nervous system is a part of the autonomic nervous system.
  • In music theory, sympathetic strings are strings on a musical instrument that resonate on their own.

..... Click the link for more information.
The recurrent laryngeal nerve is a branch of the vagus nerve (tenth cranial nerve) that supplies motor function and sensation to the larynx (voice box). It travels within the endoneurial sheath.
..... Click the link for more information.
The intercostal veins are a group of veins which drain the area between the ribs ("costae"), called the intercostal space.

They can be divided as follows:
  • Anterior intercostal veins
  • Posterior intercostal veins

..... Click the link for more information.
The cardiac plexus is a plexus of nerves situated at the base of the heart that innervate the heart.

Structure

The cardiac plexus is divided into a superficial part, which lies in the concavity of the aortic arch, and a deep part, between the aortic arch and the trachea.
..... Click the link for more information.
The recurrent laryngeal nerve is a branch of the vagus nerve (tenth cranial nerve) that supplies motor function and sensation to the larynx (voice box). It travels within the endoneurial sheath.
..... Click the link for more information.
The esophagus (also spelled oesophagus/œsophagus, Greek οἰσοφάγος), or gullet
..... Click the link for more information.
In human anatomy, the thoracic duct is an important part of the lymphatic system—it is the largest lymphatic vessel in the body.

It collects most of the lymph in the body (except that from the right arm and the right side of the chest, neck and head, which is
..... Click the link for more information.
Trachea is a common biological term for an airway through which respiratory air transport takes place in organisms.
  • Vertebrate trachea, in terrestrial vertebrates, such as birds and mammals, the trachea allows oxygen and carbon dioxide to move from the throat to the lungs

..... Click the link for more information.
The brachiocephalic artery (or brachiocephalic trunk or innominate artery) is an artery of the mediastinum that supplies blood to the right arm and the head and neck.
..... Click the link for more information.
In human anatomy, the common carotid artery is an artery that supplies the head and neck with oxygenated blood; it divides in the neck to form the external and internal carotid arteries.
..... Click the link for more information.
In human anatomy, the subclavian artery is a major artery of the upper thorax that mainly supplies blood to the head and arms. It is located below the clavicle, hence the name. There is a left subclavian and a right subclavian.
..... Click the link for more information.
The left and right brachiocephalic veins (or innominate veins) in the upper chest are formed by the union of each corresponding internal jugular vein and subclavian vein.

These great vessels merge to form the superior vena cava.
..... Click the link for more information.
The ligamentum arteriosum is a small ligament attached to the superior surface of the pulmonary trunk and the inferior surface of the aortic arch. It is a nonfunctional vestige of the ductus arteriosus, and is formed within three weeks of birth.
..... Click the link for more information.
The ligamentum arteriosum is a small ligament attached to the superior surface of the pulmonary trunk and the inferior surface of the aortic arch. It is a nonfunctional vestige of the ductus arteriosus, and is formed within three weeks of birth.
..... Click the link for more information.


This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia.org - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the wikipedia encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.
Herod_Archelaus


page counter