Bloody supply to the head Flashcards
What are the 4 main arteries supplying the head?
- External carotid
- Internal carotid
- Vertebral
- Thryocervical trunk
Why is it important that the blood supplies overlap?
Allows for collateral blood to reach all areas as even if any of these sources becomes compromised.
Where do the arteries come from?
The aorta
How many branches come off the aorta to the left and right side of the body?
What are the names?
2 from left and 1 from right.
Left = common carotid and subclavian
Right = brachiocephalic
Why is the subclavian artery called that?
This is called the subclavian artery because is travels under the clavicle bone to target primarily the arm.
Where are the two places that the brachiocephalic arteries come from?
Arm (brachium)
Head (cephalic)
What does the common carotid artery split into?
Common carotid splits giving rise to the external and internal carotids.
What are all the branches of the external carotid?
‘Some Anatomists Like Freaking Out Poor Medical Students’
- Superior thyroid artery
- Ascending pharyngeal artery
- Lingual artery
- Facial artery
- Occipital artery
- Posterior auricular artery
- Maxillary artery
- Superficial temporal artery
Give some details on the internal carotid artery
Travels much deeper within the neck compared to the external carotid.
It also has less branches than the external carotid.
It primarily targets the brain, after travelling through the carotid canal at the base of the skull.
It also supplies the eyes, upper nose and the forehead via the ophthalmic arteries.
Where does the subclavian artery sit and what are the two branches?
Comes from left side of neck.
Has 2 branches: vertebral and thryocervical
(Vertebral artery - originates from the subclavian and proceeds superiorly within the vertebrae, only providing small spinal arteries to supply surrounding structures.
This vessel then enters the skull through the foramen magnum.)
What two arteries go up to supply the brain?
What do they form?
Internal common carotid
Vertebral (from subclavian)
These arteries merge to form the basilar artery.
The basilar and internal carotids are the greatest contributors of blood to the brain.
Both parties form part of the circle of Willis (a redundancy system of vessels that ensures that the brain receives adequate blood supply even if one of the elements becomes compromised).
Give some details on the thyrocervical trunk
This artery originates from the subclavian.
It is a very short and thick vessel that soon branches into supplying the thyroid gland and muscles of the neck.
What are the 4 branches off the thryocervical called?
- Inferior thyroid
- Ascending cervical
- Transverse cervical
- Suprascapular
For blood drainage, name some of the main venous sinuses
Ophthalmic vein Sigmoid sinus Great cerebral vein Superior sagittal sinus Inferior sagittal sinus
How does the blood in the venous sinus exit the skull?
The network of sinuses drain into ever larger sized ones which then ultimately drain into the sigmoid sinus that exits though the jugular Forman and is then continuous with the internal jugular.
