Brachiocephalic artery - wikipedia Brachiocephalic artery This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. ( March 2013 ) Brachiocephalic artery. Schematic of the proximal aorta, frontal view. The brachiocephalic artery ( labeled innominate ) is the first branch of the aorta and the first branch from the arch of the aorta. The heart in the lower left is not shown. The veins of the thyroid gland. Details Source aortic arch Branches right common carotid artery right subclavian artery thyroid ima artery Vein brachiocephalic vein Identifiers Latin truncus brachiocephalicus MeSH D016122 TA A12. 2.04. 004 FMA 3932 Anatomical terminology ( edit on Wikidata ) The brachiocephalic artery ( or brachiocephalic trunk or innominate artery ) is an artery of the mediastinum that supplies blood to the right arm and the head and neck. It is the first branch of the aortic arch, and soon after it emerges, the brachiocephalic artery divides into the right common carotid artery and the right subclavian artery. There is no brachiocephalic artery for the left side of the body. The left common carotid, and the left subclavian artery, come directly off the aortic arch. However, there are two brachiocephalic veins. Contents 1 Structure 1.1 Branches 1.2 Variation 2 Additional images 3 References 4 External links Structure It arises, on a level with the upper border of the second right costal cartilage, from the start of the aortic arch, on a plane anterior to the origin of the left carotid artery ; it ascends obliquely upward, backward, and to the right to the level of the upper border of the right sternoclavicular articulation, where it divides into the right common carotid artery and right subclavian arteries. The artery then crosses the trachea in front of it obliquely from the left to the right, roughly at the middle of the trachea or the level of the ninth tracheal cartilage. In infants, it often divides cephalad to the sternoclavicular articulation, within the anterior triangle of the neck. Branches The thyreoidea ima ( arteria thyreoidea ima ) ascends in front of the trachea to the lower part of the thyroid gland, which it supplies. Variation The innominate artery usually gives off no branches, but occasionally a small branch, the thyreoidea ima, arises from it. Other times, it gives off a thymic or bronchial branch. It varies greatly in size, and appears to compensate for deficiency or absence of one of the other thyroid vessels. It occasionally arises from the aorta, the right common carotid, the subclavian or the internal mammary. Additional images Brachiocephalic artery Brachiocephalic trunk References This article incorporates text in the public domain from page 548 of the 20th edition of Gray 's Anatomy ( 1918 ) External links Anatomy figure : 21 : 06 - 02 at Human Anatomy Online, SUNY Downstate Medical Center Arteries of the torso and chest Lungs Pulmonary artery Right Left ( Ligamentum arteriosum ) Heart Coronary circulation Right coronary : SA nodal AV nodal Atrial Right marginal Posterior interventricular Left coronary : Anterior interventricular Left circumflex ( Left marginal ) Aorta Sections Ascending aorta Aortic arch Descending aorta Thoracic aorta Abdominal aorta Aortic body Aortic arch Brachiocephalic Thyreoidea ima Right subclavian Right common carotid Left common carotid External carotid Internal carotid Carotid body Carotid sinus Carotid bifurcation Left subclavian Internal thoracic : Anterior intercostal Thymic Pericardiacophrenic Perforating branches terminal ( Musculophrenic, superior epigastric ) Costocervical trunk : Highest intercostal ( Posterior intercostal 1 -- 2 ) Deep cervical Descending aorta visceral : Bronchial Esophageal Mediastinal parietal : Posterior intercostal 3 -- 11 Subcostal Superior phrenic Anatomy portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brachiocephalic_artery&oldid=826500499 '' Categories : Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the 20th edition of Gray 's Anatomy ( 1918 ) Arteries of the thorax Hidden categories : Pages with unresolved properties Articles lacking in - text citations from March 2013 All articles lacking in - text citations Anatomy NAV infobox with use of other NAV parameters All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from October 2014 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Azərbaycanca Čeština Deutsch Español Euskara فارسی Français Hrvatski Italiano עברית Latviešu Magyar Македонски Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk nynorsk Plattdüütsch Polski Português Русский Suomi Türkçe Українська اردو 中文 17 more Edit links This page was last edited on 19 February 2018, at 13 : 55. 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Question: where does the brachiocephalic artery carry blood to
Answer: the right arm and the head and neck