Vertebral artery

The vertebral artery ( " vertebral artery ") is a branch of the subclavian artery ( subclavian artery ). It rises in the amount of the first thoracic vertebra from the subclavian artery and then moves to the 6th cervical vertebra. From there it runs through a hole in the lateral process of the cervical vertebrae ( transverse foramen ) skull upward. The chain of foramina transversaria is also called the transverse process channel. There, the artery is accompanied by vertebral nerve.

At each cervical vertebral artery sends branches to the surrounding muscles and into the spinal canal for the supply of the neck portion of the spinal cord. At Atlas attracts by its transverse foramen in the atlas wing pit ( fossa atlantis ) and ( Alare foramen, with predators notch alaris ) from there over the wing hole for lateral vertebral foramen ( lateral vertebral foramen ) of this vortex. The terminal branches of both sides unite anterior to the medulla oblongata into an unpaired vessel, the basilar artery. This is a tributary of the circle of Willis and thus one of the vessels for blood supply to the brain. Before the merger, the basilar artery it gives a branch to supply parts of the cerebellum and the brain stem, the arteria cerebelli inferior posterior ( PICA ), from. The anterior spinal artery ( anterior spinal artery ) arises from its cranial end of the vertebral arteries, the inflow conditions here are, however, very inconstant and subject to large individual variations.

In ruminants, the vertebral artery terminates ready at the level of the axis, so a transverse foramen missing on Atlas.