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Common trunk of the internal thoracic artery, inferior thyroid artery and thyrocervical trunk from the subclavian artery: a rare arterial variant

  • Anatomic Variations
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Surgical and Radiologic Anatomy Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

In this article, we describe a complex and rare variant of the common trunk arising as a branch of the subclavian artery. This description highlights the clinical relevance of such a variation for medical practice.

Methods

A routine dissection was carried out on an adult 74-year-old female cadaver. After identification and preparation of the common trunk, measurements and photographs were taken.

Results

The dissection revealed a common trunk arising from the first part of the left subclavian artery. It divided into the left internal thoracic artery, the inferior thyroid artery, and the thyrocervical trunk. Further on, the branches of the thyrocervical trunk supplied blood to the trapezius muscle, the longus colli muscle and the supraspinatus muscle.

Conclusion

For the first time, we report the specific appearance of a common trunk from the left subclavian artery that includes the origin of the left internal thoracic artery, inferior thyroid artery, and thyrocervical trunk. Knowledge of the different variations of subclavian branches is essential because of the high frequency with which this region is involved in diagnostic and surgical procedures.

Level of evidence

II Basic Science Research.

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Data availability

Please contact authors for data requests (Kacper Ruzik MD—email address: kacper.ruzik@umed.lodz.pl).

Abbreviations

CCT:

Costocervical trunk

DSA:

Dorsal scapular artery

ITA:

Internal thoracic artery

ITHA:

Inferior thyroid artery

LSA:

Left subclavian artery

TCA:

Transverse cervical artery

TCT:

Thyrocervical trunk

SA:

Subclavian artery

RSA:

Right subclavian artery

SCA:

Superficial cervical artery

SSA:

Suprascapular artery

VA:

Vertebral artery

ACA:

Ascending cervical artery

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to sincerely thank those who donated their bodies to science so that anatomical research could be performed. Results from such research can potentially improve patient care and increase mankind’s overall knowledge. Therefore, these donors and their families deserve our highest gratitude.

Funding

The authors have no financial or personal relationship with any third party whose interests could be positively or negatively influenced by the article’s content. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomical Dissection and Donation, Medical University of Lodz, ul. Żeligowskiego 7/9, 90-410, Łódź, Poland

    Karolina Westrych, Kacper Ruzik, Nicol Zielinska & Łukasz Olewnik

  2. Institute of Functional and Clinical Anatomy, Friedrich Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany

    Friedrich Paulsen

  3. Department of Operative Surgery and Topographic Anatomy, Sechenov University, Moscow, Russia

    Friedrich Paulsen

  4. Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, University Hospital Queen Giovanna-ISUL, Medical University of Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria

    Georgi P. Georgiev

  5. Department of Normal and Clinical Anatomy, Chair of Anatomy and Histology, Medical University of Lodz, Łódź, Poland

    Piotr Łabętowicz

Authors
  1. Karolina Westrych
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  2. Kacper Ruzik
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  3. Nicol Zielinska
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  4. Friedrich Paulsen
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  5. Georgi P. Georgiev
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  6. Łukasz Olewnik
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  7. Piotr Łabętowicz
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Contributions

KW assistant–project development, data collection and management, data analysis and manuscript writing. KR assistant–data collection, data analysis and manuscript writing. FP (MD, PhD)–professor–data collection, data analysis and manuscript editing. NZ assistant data analysis and manuscript editing. GPG (MD, PhD)–manuscript editing. ŁO (MD., PhD) Professor–data analysis, data collection, manuscript editing. PŁ (MD, PhD) data analysis, data collection and manuscript editing. All authors have read and approved the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kacper Ruzik.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Ethical approval

The cadavers belonged to the Department of Anatomical Dissection and Donation, Medical University of Lodz.

Consent to participate

The study protocol was accepted by the Bioethics Committee of the Medical University of Lodz. The cadavers were the property of the Department of Anatomical Dissection and Donation, Medical University of Lodz. Informed consents were obtained from all participants before they died.

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Not applicable.

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Cite this article

Westrych, K., Ruzik, K., Zielinska, N. et al. Common trunk of the internal thoracic artery, inferior thyroid artery and thyrocervical trunk from the subclavian artery: a rare arterial variant. Surg Radiol Anat 44, 983–986 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-022-02977-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-022-02977-w

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