MEDICAL BIOLOGY, HUMAN ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY AND PATHOLOGY - Y.I. Fedoniuk 2010

ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY, PATHOLOGY

SECTION 5. BLOOD AND LYMPH CIRCULATION PROCESSES AND THEIR PATHOLOGY

THE HEART: STRUCTURE AND TOPOGRAPHY

3. HEART VESSELS

The Arteries of the Heart originate from the aortic bulb (the initial dilated part of the ascending aorta) and encircle The Heart like a wreath, which is why they are called coronary arteries.

The right coronary artery, a. coronaria dextra, runs within the coronary sulcus, where it anastomoses with the circumflex branch of the left coronary artery (Fig. 5.7). The largest branch of the right coronary artery is the posterior interventricular artery, which courses within the corresponding sulcus of the heart (Fig. 5.8).

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Fig. 5.7. Vessels of the heart, anterior view

Fig. 5.8. Vessels of the heart, posterior view

The left coronary artery, a. coronaria sinistra, divides into two branches (Fig. 5.7): the anterior interventricular and the circumflex. The latter is a continuation of the main arterial trunk, running within the coronary sulcus, where it anastomoses with the right coronary artery. The anterior interventricular artery (Fig. 5.7) courses within the corresponding sulcus of The Heart and anastomoses with the posterior interventricular artery (a branch of the right coronary artery) in the region of the cardiac apex.

The cardiac Veins are more numerous than the arteries. Most of them converge into a single wide venous vessel, the coronary sinus (Fig. 5.8), which is located on the posterior surface of the heart within the coronary sulcus and opens into the right atrium.

The heart also possesses veins that empty directly into the right atrium.