Transverse cervical artery

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Artery: Transverse cervical artery
The scapular and circumflex arteries. (Desc. br. of transverse cervical labeled at upper left.)
Latin arteria transversa cervicis, arteria transversa colli
Gray's subject #148 82
Source Thyrocervical trunk
Dorlands/Elsevier a_61/12156407

The transverse cervical artery (transverse artery of neck, transversalis colli artery) is a branch of the thyrocervical trunk, running at a higher level than the suprascapular artery; it passes transversely above the inferior belly of the omohyoid muscle to the anterior margin of the trapezius, beneath which it divides into an ascending and a descending branch.

It crosses in front of the phrenic nerve and the scalene muscles, and in front of or between the divisions of the brachial plexus, and is covered by the platysma and sternocleidomastoid muscles, and crossed by the omohyoid and trapezius.

The transverse cervical artery splits into two branches, a superficial one and a deep one:

  • Superficial branch (also known as the superficial cervical artery)
  • Deep branch (also called the dorsal scapular artery)

[edit] Superficial branch

The superficial cervical artery is another name for the superficial branch of transverse cervical artery. It ascends beneath the anterior margin of the trapezius, distributing branches to it, and to the neighboring muscles and lymph glands in the neck, and anastomosing with the superficial branch of the descending branch of the occipital artery.

[edit] Deep branch

See dorsal scapular artery.

[edit] External links

  • SUNY Labs 01:04-0100 - "Muscles of the Back: Spinal Accessory Nerve (CN XI) and Transverse Cervical Vessels"
  • SUNY Figs 26:03-04 - "Branches of the first part of the subclavian artery."

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 As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated.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.

Arteries of head and neckedit

EXTERNAL CAROTID: Anterior: superior thyroid - superior laryngeal - lingual (sublingual)

facial: cervical branches (ascending palatine - tonsillar - submental) - facial branches (inferior labial - superior labial - lateral nasal - angular)

Posterior and ascending: occipital - posterior auricular - stylomastoid - ascending pharyngeal (meningeal branches)
Terminal: superficial temporal - transverse facial - middle temporal (zygomaticoörbital) - parietal branch
internal maxillary - 1st part: anterior tympanic - deep auricular - middle meningeal - superior tympanic - accessory meningeal - inferior alveolar - lingual
2nd part: deep temporal - masseteric - buccinator - posterior superior alveolar
3rd part: infraorbital - descending palatine - artery of the pterygoid canal - sphenopalatine | (Gray's s144)

INTERNAL CAROTID: cervical portion - petrous portion - cavernous portion
ophthalmic - orbital group: lacrimal - supra-orbital - posterior ethmoidal - anterior ethmoidal - medial palpebral - supratrochlear - dorsal nasal
ocular group: central retinal - ciliary
cerebral portion: anterior cerebral - anterior communicating - middle cerebral - posterior communicating - anterior choroidal - circle of Willis | (Gray's s146 - Gray's s147)

SUBCLAVIAN: vertebral: meningeal branches - posterior spinal - anterior spinal - posterior inferior cerebellar - basilar (internal auditory - anterior inferior cerebellar - superior cerebellar - posterior cerebral)
thyrocervical trunk: inferior thyroid - inferior laryngeal - ascending cervical - suprascapular - transverse cervical - dorsal scapular
internal thoracic: musculophrenic - anterior intercostal - pericardiacophrenic - superior epigastric
costocervical trunk: highest intercostal, deep cervical | (Gray's s148)