An autopsy case of an extracoronary artery presenting evidence for the dualism of blood supply to the human heart.
In an anatomy class, dissection of a cadaver led to the discovery of a hitherto not reported extracoronary artery found to take part in supplying blood to the heart of a Japanese male. This artery arose from the concavity of the aortic arch and coursed as far downward as the level of the bifurcation of the pulmonary trunk, dividing here into the arterial porta- and venous porta-related arteries; the latter obviously supplied the atrial portion of the heart. It is believed that this artery is a variant of the bronchial artery.
Mizukami
S
S
College of Nursing, Fukui Prefectural University, Japan.
Tanaka
S
S
Nakatani
T
T
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001981:Bronchial Arteries / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male