Human Anatomy and Physiology - N. I. Fedyukovich 2003

Cardiovascular System
Branches of the Aortic Arch
Branches of the Thoracic Aorta

The Thoracic Aorta is located in the posterior Mediastinum and lies adjacent to THE Vertebral Column (Fig. 91).

It gives rise to visceral and parietal branches. The visceral branches include the bronchial branches, which supply the lung parenchyma, as well as the walls of the Trachea and Bronchi; esophageal branches, which supply the walls of the Esophagus; mediastinal branches, which supply the mediastinal Organs; and pericardial branches, which supply the posterior section of the Pericardium.

The parietal Branches of the thoracic aorta include the superior phragmatic Arteries, which supply the upper surface of the Diaphragm, and the posterior intercostal arteries, which supply the intercostal Muscles, rectus abdominis muscles, chest Skin, mammary gland, skin and Muscles of the back, and the Spinal Cord.



Last update: 08/08/2026

Editorial and Educational Adaptation: This material has been compiled based on the primary/original source text. The project team performed an editorial review, corrected technical inaccuracies, structured sections, and adapted the content for an educational format.

What was processed:

  • elimination of formatting defects (OCR errors, structural breaks, corrupted characters);
  • editorial organization of content;
  • standardization of terminology in accordance with academic sources;
  • verification of factual statements against the original source text.

All mentions of the author, publication year, and origin of the primary text have been preserved in accordance with the source.