Variations in the transverse cervical artery (543.6)

Abstract

The transverse cervical artery is typically seen in both the superficial back and posterior cervical triangle dissections in a human cadaver gross anatomy course. The two most commonly used references, the atlases of Grant and Netter, cite it as being a branch of the thyrocervical trunk. Also, these sources name the dorsal scapular artery as either a branch of the transverse cervical artery or a direct branch of the subclavian artery. Additionally, the suprascapular artery is typically seen as a branch of the thyrocervical trunk, but in some cases may be a branch of the transverse cervical artery. Ten cadavers were examined for source and length of the transverse cervical artery from source to the branching off of the dorsal scapular artery, and for other arteries that branched from it. In two cadavers it was a direct branch of the subclavian artery, and the suprascapular artery was a direct branch of the transverse cervical artery in two other cadavers. In this group of dissections, the transverse cervical artery was most often a branch of the thyrocervical trunk, with an average length of 5.875 cm from source to the branching off of the dorsal scapular artery.