Thyroid ima artery

File:Gray560.png (thyroid ima artery not labeled, but region of origin and route are visible)|200x200px|left]]

The thyroid ima artery is an embryonic artery and it occurs because of the failure of the vessel to close, remaining patent (open).

The artery has a variable origin. It mostly arises from the brachiocephalic trunk,{{cite book|author=Henry Gray|editor=Susan Standring|title=Gray's Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Clinical Practice|publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences|isbn=978-0-7020-6851-5|year=2015|edition=41st|page=1026}} but may also originate from the aortic arch, the right common carotid, the subclavian, the pericardiacophrenic artery, the thyrocervical trunk, the transverse scapular or the internal thoracic artery.{{cite web|author1=Ronald A. Bergman|author2=Adel K. Afifi|author3=Ryosuke Miyauchi|title=Thyroidea Ima (of Neubauer) Artery|url=http://www.anatomyatlases.org/AnatomicVariants/Cardiovascular/Text/Arteries/ThyroideaIma.shtml|publisher=Anatomy Atlases|access-date=21 January 2016}} It ascends in front of the trachea in the superior mediastinum to the lower part of the thyroid gland.{{cite web|title=Thyroidea ima artery (anatomy)|url=http://www.gpnotebook.co.uk/simplepage.cfm?ID=-1100283844|publisher=General Practice Notebook|access-date=21 January 2016}}

It differs in size and ranges from as small as accessory thyroid arteries to the size of primary thyroid vessels. The diameter of the lumen of the artery ranges from {{convert|3 to 5|mm|in}}.{{cite journal|author1=G. Wyatt Pratt|title=The Thyroidea Ima Artery|journal=Journal of Anatomy|volume=50|issue=Pt 3|pages=239–242|year=1916}} The artery may be present as an accessory thyroid artery, but sometimes appears to compensate for incompetence or absence of one or more main thyroid vessels. Since it begins from below the thyroid gland and ascends upwards, it is mostly associated with absence or reduced size of the inferior thyroid arteries.{{cite book|last1=Choi|first1=Yeo-Kyu Youn, Kyu Eun Lee, June Young|title=Color atlas of thyroid surgery : open, endoscopic and robotic procedures|date=2014|publisher=Springer Berlin Heidelberg|location=Berlin, Heidelberg|isbn=978-3-642-37262-9|pages=3|edition=Aufl. 2014}} In such cases, it is known as the accessory inferior thyroid artery. In rare cases, the artery has been seen to be compensating for absence of one or both superior thyroid arteries.{{cite journal|author1=Yilmaz E.|author2=Celik H.H.|author3=Durgun B.|author4=Atasever A.|author5=Ilgi S.|title=Arteria thyroidea ima arising from the brachiocephalic trunk with bilateral absence of inferior thyroid arteries: a case report|journal=Surgical and Radiologic Anatomy|volume=15|issue=3|pages=197–199|year=1993|doi=10.1007/bf01627705|pmid=8235962|s2cid=32274136}}

In cases where the length of the thyroid ima artery is shorter, the artery ends by supplying the thymus gland and is known as thymica accessoria.

File:Postoperative Hypoparathyroidism in Thyroid Surgery Fig4 Recorte.jpg

When present, the thyroid ima's chief supply is the thyroid gland, though it also supplies the trachea. The artery may extend and supply the parathyroid glands. An infrequently observed artery, it is more frequently reported in the context of enlarged parathyroid glands (parathyroid adenomas). The artery ends by supplying the thyroid gland, or the parathyroid glands, as a single unit or as multiple branches.{{cite journal|author1=Krudy A.G.|author2=Doppman J.L.|author3=Brennan M.F.|title=The significance of the thyroidea ima artery in arteriographic localization of parathyroid adenomas|journal=Radiology|volume=136|issue=1|pages=45–51|year=1980|doi=10.1148/radiology.136.1.7384523|pmid=7384523}}{{cite journal|author1=Beaumanoir|title=Preséntation de pièces anatomiques: artère thyroïdienne de Neubauer|journal=Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société Anatomique|volume=4|pages=316–317|year=1882|language=fr}} The artery is also found to be the only supply of the parathyroid gland in rare cases.

The artery is only present in approximately 3–10% of the population.{{cite book|author=BD Chaurasia|editor1-last=Garg|editor1-first=Krishna|editor2-last=Mittal|editor2-first=PS|editor3-last=Chandrupatla|editor3-first=Mrudula|title=BD Chaurasia's Human Anatomy: Head-Neck and Brain|volume=3|year=2012|publisher=CBS Publishers|edition=6th|isbn=978-81-239-2332-1|page=143}}{{cite book|author1=Keith L. Moore|author2=Arthur F. Dalley|title=Clinically Oriented Anatomy|year=1999|publisher=Lippincott Williams & Wilkins|isbn=978-0-683-06141-3|page=[https://archive.org/details/clinicallyorient00moor/page/1027 1027]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/clinicallyorient00moor/page/1027}} Thyroid ima artery is of surgical importance; due to its relatively small size and infrequent presence it can cause complications such as severe bleeding.{{Cite journal |last1=Kamparoudi |first1=Pagona |last2=Paliouras |first2=Dimitrios |last3=Gogakos |first3=Apostolos S. |last4=Rallis |first4=Thomas |last5=Schizas |first5=Nikolaos C. |last6=Lazopoulos |first6=Achilleas |last7=Chatzinikolaou |first7=Fotios |last8=Sarafis |first8=Pavlos |last9=Serchan |first9=Paschalitsa |last10=Katsikogiannis |first10=Nikolaos |last11=Sarika |first11=Eirini |date=2016 |title=Percutaneous tracheostomy—beware of the thyroidea-ima artery |journal=Annals of Translational Medicine |volume=4 |issue=22 |pages=449 |doi=10.21037/atm.2016.11.04 |issn=2305-5839 |pmc=5159410 |pmid=27999783 |doi-access=free }} Knowledge of occurrence of the artery is especially important during tracheostomy, sternotomy and thyroidectomy. Because the artery is smaller than the other thyroid vessels, and having an origin from one of the bigger vessels, a brisk cut while performing the surgery may cause complications such as severe hemorrhage and significant blood loss.{{cite book|author=Vishram Singh|editor=P. Mahalingam|title=Clinical and Surgical Anatomy|year=2012|publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences|isbn=978-81-312-0303-3|edition=2nd|pages=301–303}} The artery, if dissected, may draw back into the mediastinum and further complicate the condition by causing hemorrhage and clots in the thoracic cavity.{{cite book|author1=N. Anthony Moore|author2=William A. Roy|title=Rapid Review Gross and Developmental Anatomy|year=2010|publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences|isbn=978-0-323-08048-4|page=220}}

The thyroid ima artery was first defined by German anatomist {{Interlanguage link|Johann Ernst Neubauer|de}} in the year 1772. Hence, it was named the thyroid artery of Neubauer.{{cite book|author1=C. Neubauer|title=De arteria thyreoidea ima rariare arteriae innominate ramo|pages=291–296, 309–314|year=1786}} The artery originates lower than the inferior thyroid arteries, so it is also known as the lowest thyroid artery. Arteria thyroidea ima is the Latin name of the artery.

The presence of thyroid ima artery is also observed in other higher primates. The artery has been reported in gorillas, gibbons, macaques and gray langurs. Variations in the origin were also seen; it was found to originate from the aorta in the thorax, or the carotid in the neck.{{cite journal|author1=Arthur Keith|title=The Modes of Origin of the Carotid and Subclavian Arteries from the Arch of the Aorta in Some of the Higher Primates|journal=Journal of Anatomy and Physiology|volume=29|issue=Pt 3|pages=455|year=1895}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Arteries of chest}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Good article}}

Category:Thyroid

Category:Arteries of the thorax

Category:Arteries of the head and neck

Category:Anatomical variations