Anatomy study note · Thorax

Internal thoracic artery

A branch of the first part of the subclavian artery that supplies the front of the body wall from the clavicle to the umbilicus.

Key points

• From the 1st part of the subclavian.
• Runs 1 fingerbreadth lateral to the sternum.
• Ends in the 6th space → superior epigastric + musculophrenic.
• Anterior intercostals for spaces 1–6; perforators to the breast.
• Coronary bypass graft; collateral in coarctation.
• Stem: 7th cervical intersegmental; vertical part: ventral anastomoses.
• Artery: intima / media (smooth muscle) / adventitia.
• Most named arteries are muscular; aorta is elastic.

The full note in the atlas also covers

Course · Branches · Histology · Development · Clinical notes

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Written from

• Snell’s Clinical Anatomy by Regions, 10th ed., ch. 4, PDF pp. 510–513
• Inderbir Singh’s Human Embryology, ch. 15, PDF pp. 256–257
• BRS Cell Biology & Histology, 7th ed., ch. 11, PDF pp. 197–199

More from the thorax

• Internal thoracic vein
• Interventricular septum
• Joints of the ribs
• Left atrium
• Left coronary artery
• Left ventricle
• Levatores costarum
• Lung
• Lymph nodes of the thoracic wall
• Main and lobar bronchi
• Mediastinal and tracheobronchial lymph nodes
• Mitral valve

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