Inferior thyroid arteries

Inferior thyroid artery
Thyrocervical trunk and its branches, including inferior thyroid artery. Superficial dissection of the right side of the neck.
Human parathyroid glands
Details
Source	Thyrocervical trunk
Vein	Inferior thyroid veins
Supplies	Thyroid gland
Identifiers
Latin	Arteria thyreoidea inferior
Dorlands /Elsevier	a_61/12156378
TA	A12.2.08.043
FMA	10662
Anatomical terminology []

The inferior thyroid artery is an artery in the neck. It arises from the thyrocervical trunk and passes upward, in front of the vertebral artery and longus colli muscle. It then turns medially behind the carotid sheath and its contents, and also behind the sympathetic trunk, the middle cervical ganglion resting upon the vessel.

Reaching the lower border of the thyroid gland it divides into two branches, which supply the postero-inferior parts of the gland, and anastomose with the superior thyroid artery, and with the corresponding artery of the opposite side.

The branches of the inferior thyroid artery are the inferior laryngeal, the oesophageal, the tracheal, the ascending cervical and the pharyngeal arteries.

The inferior laryngeal artery climbs the trachea to the back part of the larynx under cover of the inferior pharyngeal constrictor muscle. It is accompanied by the recurrent nerve, and supplies the muscles and mucous membrane of this part, anastomosing with the branch from the opposite side, and with the superior laryngeal branch of the superior thyroid artery.

The tracheal branches of the inferior thyroid artery are distributed on the trachea, and anastomose below with the bronchial arteries.

The esophageal branches of the inferior thyroid artery supply the esophagus, and anastomose with the esophageal branches of the aorta.