Aortic arches
Scheme of the aortic arches and their destination.
Profile view of a human embryo estimated at twenty or twenty-one days old.
Gray's	subject #135 515
Dorlands/Elsevier	a_57/12149616

This article focuses upon the multiple aortic arches present in the embryo. For the single structure present in the adult, see Aortic arch

The aortic arches are a series of six paired embryological vascular structures which give rise to several major arteries. They are ventral to the dorsal aorta. Elseviers logo. ... For the embryological structure, see Aortic arches. ... Each primitive aorta receives anteriorly a vein—the vitelline vein—from the yolk-sac, and is prolonged backward on the lateral aspect of the notochord under the name of the dorsal aorta. ...

Specific arches

Arches 1 and 2

The first and second arches disappear early, but the dorsal end of the second gives origin to the stapedial artery, a vessel which atrophies in humans but persists in some mammals. It passes through the ring of the stapes and divides into supraorbital, infraorbital, and mandibular branches which follow the three divisions of the trigeminal nerve. The infraorbital and mandibular arise from a common stem, the terminal part of which anastomoses with the external carotid. The stapes or stirrup is the stirrup-shaped small bone or ossicle in the middle ear which attaches the incus to the fenestra ovalis, the oval window which is adjacent to the vestibule of the inner ear. ... The trigeminal nerve is the fifth (V) cranial nerve, and carries sensory information from most of the face, as well as motor supply to the muscles of mastication (the muscles enabling chewing), tensor tympani (in the middle ear), and other muscles in the floor of the mouth, such as the... In human anatomy, the external carotid artery is a major artery of the head and neck. ...

On the obliteration of the stapedial artery this anastomosis enlarges and forms the internal maxillary artery, and the branches of the stapedial artery are now branches of this vessel.

The common stem of the infraorbital and mandibular branches passes between the two roots of the auriculotemporal nerve and becomes the middle meningeal artery; the original supraorbital branch of the stapedial is represented by the orbital twigs of the middle meningeal. The auriculotemporal nerve is a branch of the mandibular nerve that runs with the superficial temporal artery and vein, and provides sensory innervation to various regions on the side of the head. ... The middle meningeal artery is typically the first branch of the first part (retromandibular part) of the maxillary artery; one of the two terminal branches of the external carotid artery. ...

Arch 3

The third aortic arch constitutes the commencement of the internal carotid artery, and is therefore named the carotid arch. The carotid artery is a major artery of the head and neck that supplies blood to the head and neck. ...

Arch 4

The fourth right arch forms the right subclavian as far as the origin of its internal mammary branch; while the fourth left arch constitutes the arch of the aorta between the origin of the left carotid artery and the termination of the ductus arteriosus. For the embryological structure, see Aortic arches. ... In human anatomy, the carotid artery is a major artery of the head and neck. ... In the developing fetus, the ductus arteriosus (DA) is a shunt connecting the pulmonary artery to the aortic arch that allows much of the blood from the right ventricle to bypass the fetus fluid-filled lungs. ...

Arch 5

The fifth arch disappears on both sides.

Arch 6

The sixth right arch disappears; the sixth left arch gives off the pulmonary arteries and forms the ductus arteriosus; this duct remains pervious during the whole of fetal life, but is obliterated a few days after birth. The pulmonary arteries carry blood from the heart to the lungs. ... In the developing fetus, the ductus arteriosus (DA) is a shunt connecting the pulmonary artery to the aortic arch that allows much of the blood from the right ventricle to bypass the fetus fluid-filled lungs. ...

His showed that in the early embryo the right and left arches each gives a branch to the lungs, but that later both pulmonary arteries take origin from the left arch. Hi my name is cheese. :) Wilhelm His, Jr. ... For other uses, see Embryo (disambiguation). ... The heart and lungs (from an older edition of Grays Anatomy) The lung is an organ belonging to the respiratory system and interfacing to the circulatory system of air-breathing vertebrates. ...

Additional images

Diagram showing the origins of the main branches of the carotid arteries. Image File history File links Gray474. ...

External links

• Embryology at Temple Heart98/heart97b/sld041
• Diagram at University of Michigan
• hednk-008 — Embryology at UNC

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant. For the private Christian university in Tennessee, see Tennessee Temple University. ... The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (U of M, UM, U-M or simply Michigan) is a coeducational public research university in the state of Michigan. ... The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public, coeducational, research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... An illustration from the 1918 edition Henry Grays Anatomy of the Human Body (or Grays Anatomy as it has more commonly become known) is an anatomy textbook widely regarded as a classic work on human anatomy. ...