[A case of anomalous courses of the brachiocephalic artery, trachea, and esophagus].
A case was described in which the brachiocephalic artery ran transversely in front of the fourth tracheal ring. The abnormal course of this artery may present a possible hazard in the event of a tracheotomy. In this case the anomalous artery was accompanied by a shift of the trachea to the right and of the esophagus to the left. As a consequence, the left recurrent laryngeal nerve ascended in front of the esophagus. The anomalous nerve course may present the possibility of injury to the nerve in the event of a curative operation for esophageal cancer.
Funami
Y
Y
Second Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Chiba University, Japan.
Isono
K
K
Shimada
Y
Y
D016121:Brachiocephalic Veins / Q000002:abnormalities*; D002102:Cadaver; D004947:Esophagus / Q000002:abnormalities*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014132:Trachea / Q000002:abnormalities*