| Artery: Aortic arch | |
|---|---|
| Plan of the branches. | |
| The arch of the aorta, and its branches. | |
| Gray's | subject #142 547 |
| Source | ascending aorta |
| Branches | brachiocephalic artery, left common carotid artery, left subclavian artery |
| Precursor | fourth aortic arch |
| MeSH | Aortic+Arch |
The arch of the aorta or the transverse aortic arch is the part of the aorta that 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.
It lies within the mediastinum.
Contents |
The ligamentum arteriosum connects the commencement of the left pulmonary artery to the aortic arch. The blood bypasses the lungs through the ductus arteriosus during embryonic circulation. This becomes the ligamentum arteriosum postnatal as pulmonary circulation begins.
The aortic knob is the prominent shadow of the aortic arch on a frontal chest radiograph.[1]
Aortopexy is a surgical procedure in which the aortic arch is fixed to the sternum in order to keep the trachea open.
This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained within it may be outdated.
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