Quick Facts
Origin: Inferior thyroid artery.
Course: Travels superiorly, anterior to the transverse processes of the cervical vertebrae and medial to the phrenic nerve.
Branches: Spinal branches.
Supplied Structures: Scalenus anterior, longus cervicis, cervical vertebral bodies, and the spinal cord and its meningeal layers.
Related parts of the anatomy
Origin
The ascending cervical artery can originate from the inferior thyroid artery as it turns medially to run posterior to the carotid sheath and its contents. Alternatively, the ascending cervical artery can originate directly from the thyrocervical trunk.
Course
From its origin, the ascending cervical artery ascends between the scalenus anterior and longus cervicis muscles, just medial to the phrenic nerve, and ascends along the anterior tubercles of the transverse processes of the cervical vertebrae. Along its course, the artery anastomoses with the vertebral, ascending pharyngeal, and deep cervical arteries.
Branches
One or two small spinal branches travel through the intervertebral foramina to supply the vertebral bodies and the contents of the vertebral canal.
Supplied Structures
The ascending cervical artery and its branches provide an arterial supply to the scalenus anterior and longus cervicis muscles of the neck, vertebrae bodies, and the contents of the vertebral canal.
