Quick Facts
Origin: Thyrocervical trunk.
Course: Travels superolaterally across the posterior triangle of the neck and descends deep to the trapezius muscle.
Branches: Ascending and descending branches.
Supplied Structures: Trunks of brachial plexus, sternocleidomastoid, trapezius, levator scapulae, and rhomboid muscles.
Related parts of the anatomy
Origin
The transverse cervical artery originates from the superior part of the thyrocervical trunk, superior to the origin of the suprascapular artery.
Course
From its origin, the transverse cervical artery takes a horizontal course, superolaterally to the posterior triangle of the neck. It passes anterior to the scalenus anterior muscle, brachial plexus, and phrenic nerve, 2–3 cm superior to the clavicle and deep to the internal jugular vein, sternocleidomastoid and platysma muscles. When it reaches the anterior margin of levator scapulae, it travels inferior to the anterior border of the trapezius.
Branches
The transverse cervical artery terminates by dividing into two terminal branches, the ascending and descending branches. The transverse cervical artery anastomoses with branches from the occipital artery.
Supplied Structures
The transverse cervical artery and its branches provide an arterial supply to the structures of the scapular region and root of the neck. This includes the vasa nervorum of the trunks of the brachial plexus, and the sternocleidomastoid, trapezius, levator scapulae and rhomboid muscles.
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Transverse Cervical Artery
This is a branch from the third part of the subclavian (between the lateral aspect of the anterior scalene muscle and the first rib) and is only present when there is no deep branch of the superficial (transverse) cervical artery.
