Left coronary artery

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Artery: Left coronary artery
Base of ventricles exposed by removal of the atria. (Left coronary artery visible at left.)
The arch of the aorta, and its branches.
Latin arteria coronaria sinistra
Gray's subject #142 547
Source ascending aorta
Branches anterior interventricular
circumflex
Dorlands/Elsevier a_61/12154070

The left coronary artery, abbreviated LCA and also known as the left main coronary artery (often abbreviated LMCA), arises from the aorta above the left cusp of the aortic valve.

It typically runs for 1 to 25 mm and then bifurcates into the left anterior descending (LAD) artery and the left circumflex artery (LCX).

The part that is between the aorta and the bifurcation only is known as the left main artery (LM), while the term 'LCA' might refer to just the left main, or to the left main and all its eventual branches.

If an artery arises from the left main between the LAD and LCX, it is known as the ramus intermedius. The ramus intermedius occurs in 37%[citation needed] of the general population, and is considered a normal variant.

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