Illustrated Encyclopedia of Human Anatomic Variation: Opus II: Cardiovascular System: Arteries: Head, Neck, and Thorax

Thymic Artery

Ronald A. Bergman, PhD
Adel K. Afifi, MD, MS
Ryosuke Miyauchi, MD
Peer Review Status: Internally Peer Reviewed

In one study, (Bell, et al., 1954), the blood supply to the thymus was reported as follows: of 77 subjects studied, the thymus was supplied by the internal thoracic in 59 cases (the right internal thoracic in 28 and the left in 29), the pericardiacophrenic in 13 (the right side in eight and the left in five), the inferior thyroid in six (the right side in two and the left in four), and the brachiocephalic in two. Origin from the middle thyroid artery of Neubauer is rare.

In the Yamasaki study (1989), among various arteries, the middle thymothyreoid artery showed the highest frequency of 44% in fetuses and 27.3% in adults. The superior thymic artery and the middle thymic artery were also abundant, being 33.7% (fetus) and 18.8% (fetus) and 32.6% (adult) and 14.3% (adult) in the two arteries respectively. The supreme thymic and and thyroid ima arteries arising from the internal thoracic artery were extremely rare. There were no sex differences found in this study.

Yamasaki reported finding four cases (1 in an adult and 3 in fetuses) of the thymic artery arising from the superior thyroid artery in 77 adult cadavers and 45 fetuses. These arteries were distinguished from anterior and posterior rami because they reached the thymus directly, and in most cases, they had a sternomastoid branch. Hence the superior thyroid artery may supply both the thyroid gland and the thymus. This branch may disappear in an early stage of development - it may also persist. Yamaski states that the proximal portion of this thymic artery may remain as the stem of the sternomastoid branch or as a lateral branch of the superior thyroid artery. The author suggests that the branch in question be called the "supreme thymic artery" (A. thymica suprema), because of its location and anatomical significance.

References

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Bell, R.H., Knapp, B.I., Anson, B.J. and S.J. Larson. (1954) Form, size, blood supply and relations of the adult thymus. Q. Bull. Northwestern University Medical School 28:156-164.

Bergman, R. A., Thompson, S.A., Afifi, A.K. and F.A. Saadeh. (1988) Compendium of Human Anatomic Variation: Catalog, Atlas and World Literature. Urban & Schwarzenberg, Baltimore and Munich.

Braine, J. et J. Funck-Brentano (1934) Les variations des artères du corps thyroïde (Etude d'anatomie chirurgicale). Ann. Anat. Path., Paris 11:125-155.

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Huber, J. (1777) Observationes aliquot de arcûs aortae ramis, de arteria thyroid quinta s, supernumeria, deque vicinis his quibusdam arteriis aliis. Acta Helv., Zurich 8:68-105.

Kani, T. (1967) A study on the nutrional arteries of the thyroid gland and the thymus on the human fetuses. J. Tokyo Dent. College Soc., Tokyo 67:928-943. (In Japanese, title of article translated by the author).

Labougle, J. (1888) Note sur une artère thymique provenant de l'artère thyroïdienne moyenne de Neubauer. Journal de Médecine de Bordeaux et du Sud-Ouest 32:367-368.

Latarjet, A. et J. Murard. (1911) La vascularisation arterielle du thymus. Lyon Chir. 6:493-501.

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Morin, A., Riou, R.J. et L. Fischer. (1973) Quelques aspects de la vascularisation du thymus, de ses reliquats et de la capsule thymique. Arch. d'Anat. Pathol., Paris 21:375-380.

Oliver, E. (1923) Les rapports entre la morphologie du thymus et sa vascularisation artèrielle. Thèse de doctorat des sciences, Paris. (Cited by Braine, J. et P. Funck-Brentano).

Shimizu, H. (1951) Study on the A. thyroidea ima of fetus. J. Tokyo Med. Coll., Tokyo 9:51-55. In Japanese.

Tzinas, S., Droulias, C., Harlaftis, N., Akin, Jr., J.T., S.W. Gray and J.E. Skandalakis. (1976) Vascular patterns of the thyroid gland. Amer. Surg., Baltimore 42:639-644.

Versari, R. (1897) Le arterie timiche nell'uomo ed in altri mammiferi. Loro rapporti colle arterie tiroidee. Boll. Soc. Lancisiana Osp. Rome, Rome 17:64-82.

Yamada, S. (1936) Die arterien der Thymusdrüse bei japanischen Foeten. Acta. Anat. Nippon, Tokyo 9:198-202. (Japanese text with German abstract)

Yamasaki, M. (1989) Studies on the thyroid and thymic arteries of Japanese adults and fetuses. Anat. Anz., Jena 169:213-221.

Yokota, K. (1959) Anatomical studies on the sternocleidomastoid and cricothyreoid rami of the superior thyroid artery in Japanese. J. Oral Anat., Tokyo 13:461-486. In Japanese, title translated into English by M. Yamasaki.

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