Anatomical Study of Subclavian Artery and Its Branches

Background: The branches of right and left subclavian arteries are important in conducting of blood to spinal cord, posterior cranial fossa, base of the neck, thyroid gland, wall of the thorax and abdomen. The routine use of internal thoracic artery as a conduit in coronary artery bypass grafting surgery requires appreciation of the anatomical variations of these vessels. So far, there is not any report about the variation of subclavian artery and it’s branches in Iran, for this reason this study have been done to see the variations of the subclavian arteries and its branches. Materials and methods: The base of the neck of 40 male cadavers approximately 40-80 years old were dissected bilaterally with appropriate equipments. The specimens were fixed with routine fixative in dissection hall. Findings: In all specimens the left subclavian artery had normal origin but the right subclavian artery in one case originated from the beginning of the arch of aorta and in another one a retroesophageal right subclavian artery was present. We have seen that, the left vertebral artery in 2 cadavers and right vertebral artery in 1 specimen, rose from arch of aorta. This study showed that the variation of thyrocervical and internal thoracic arteries are uncommon. Conclusion: For preserving the integrity of important structures in the base of the neck, especially thyroid gland in surgery, this vascular variations are presented to physicians to keep in mind that such variations exists during diagnostic investigation and surgical procedures of the neck. An awareness of these variations is important, because this area in used for diagnostic and surgical procedures.