Transverse cervical artery
Encyclopedia
The transverse cervical artery (transverse artery of neck, transversa colli artery) is a branch of the thyrocervical trunk
, running at a higher level than the suprascapular artery
.
to the anterior margin of the trapezius, beneath which it divides into a superficial and a deep 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.
Thyrocervical trunk
The thyrocervical trunk is a branch of the subclavian artery arising from the first portion of this vessel, i.e. between the origin of the subclavian artery and the inner border of the scalenus anterior muscle...
, running at a higher level than the suprascapular artery
Suprascapular artery
The suprascapular artery is a branch of the thyrocervical trunk.-Course:At first, it passes downward and laterally across the scalenus anterior and phrenic nerve, being covered by the sternocleidomastoid muscle; it then crosses the subclavian artery and the brachial plexus, running behind and...
.
Path
It passes transversely above the inferior belly of the omohyoid muscleOmohyoid muscle
The omohyoid muscle is a muscle at the front of the neck that consists of two bellies separated by an intermediate tendon. It belongs to the group of infrahyoid muscles...
to the anterior margin of the trapezius, beneath which it divides into a superficial and a deep branch.
It crosses in front of the phrenic nerve and the scalene muscles
Scalene muscles
The scalene muscles are a group of three pairs of muscles in the lateral neck, namely the scalenus anterior, scalenus medius, and scalenus posterior.They are innervated by the spinal nerves C4-C6....
, and in front of or between the divisions of the brachial plexus
Brachial plexus
The brachial plexus is a network of nerve fibers, running from the spine, formed by the ventral rami of the lower four cervical and first thoracic nerve roots...
, and is covered by the platysma and sternocleidomastoid muscles, and crossed by the omohyoid and trapezius.
Branches
The transverse cervical artery splits into two branches, a superficial one and a deep one:- Superficial branchSuperficial branch of transverse cervical arteryThe superficial cervical artery is another name for the superficial branch of transverse cervical artery.-Path: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...
(also known as the superficial cervical artery) - Deep branch (also called the dorsal scapular arteryDorsal scapular arteryThe dorsal scapular artery is a blood vessel which supplies thelevator scapulae, rhomboids, and trapezius.-Origin:...
). Descending branch in older literature. Most often, however, this artery branches directly from the subclavian arterySubclavian arteryIn human anatomy, the subclavian arteries are two major arteries of the upper thorax , below the clavicle . They receive blood from the top of the aorta...
.