The brachiocephalic truncus is a right vascular branch of the aorta and supplies portions of the brain in addition to the neck and right arm. Like any artery, the truncus carries blood rich in oxygen, nutrients, and messengers. Vascular diseases such as arteriosclerosis can affect the brachiocephalic truncus and require surgical intervention.
What is the brachiocephalic trunk?
The aorta is the central artery in every animal organism. The arterial vessel branches off from the heart and thus carries oxygenated blood to the periphery of the body. More precisely, the outlet of the aorta is located at the left heart. The artery is separated from the organ by the so-called aortic valve. In the form of an arch, the vessel passes over the trachea, where it shifts its direction to dorsal-caudal. The aorta plays a central role for the entire body circulation. The main functions of the vessel include supplying nutrients, oxygen and messengers to organs and tissues. Within the thoracic region, the aorta gives off the brachiocephalic trunk in addition to the coronary arteries, the carotid communis sinistra artery, the subclavian sinistra artery, and the intercostal arteries. This arterial vascular branch is one of the main branches originating at the aorta. The vascular branch is primarily responsible for supplying blood to the head region and may have vascular branches of its own in individual cases.
Anatomy and structure
The brachiocephalic trunk is located on the right side of the body in many people and is not found bilaterally. The vascular branch forms the common vascular trunk of the right-sided subclavian artery and common carotid artery, which generally arise separately from the aortic arch on the left side of the human body. Anatomically, the brachiocephalic trunk is adjacent to different structures. On the anterior side, the brachiocephalic sinistra vein forms the boundary together with the manubrium sterni. The trachea and the vagus nerve lie at the posterior border of the truncus. On the posterior left, the brachiocephalic truncus borders the carotid communis sinistra artery, with the brachiocephalic vein dextra discernible on the right. The truncus does not give off its own arterial branches, but may send a small branch to the caudal side of the thyroid gland in the form of a variety. This possible branch is called the thyroid artery ima.
Function and Tasks
Like all arterial vascular branches, the brachiocephalic truncus carries oxygenated blood. This blood originates from the aorta, which is supplied with oxygen after passing through the lungs and cardiac ventricles. The arterial blood is thus a transport medium. The oxygen molecules bind to the hemoglobin within the arterial blood in the favorable pH environment of the lungs and release their binding again when the pH changes within the body periphery. In this way, in addition to free oxygen, bound oxygen can be transported with the blood and delivered to the individual organs as well as tissues of the body periphery. Since oxygen is vital to every type of body tissue, arteries play a vital role as conduits for oxygen-rich blood in the human body. In addition to oxygen, arterial blood also carries nutrients and messenger substances. These transport tasks also have vital value. Without nutrients, the individual tissues of the body periphery perish just as they would without O2. In turn, messenger substances serve to control almost all physiological body processes. The signal substances bind to designated receptors within the peripheral target organs and trigger processes such as growth processes. Thus, like all other arteries, the brachiocephalic truncus transports oxygenated, nutrient-rich, and messenger-bearing blood to individual body tissues and organs. Specifically, the truncus supplies the right arm as well as the right side of the head, the right side of the neck, and the right side of the brain. By supplying oxygen, nutrients, and neurotransmitters to a portion of the brain, the arterial vascular branch is fundamentally involved in maintaining central control centers.
Diseases
Arterial vascular branches can be affected by various vascular diseases. In the Western society of the 21st century, the prevalence of vascular disease and cardiovascular disease is visibly increasing. The
modern lifestyle harbors numerous risk factors that, for example, support chronic occlusive processes of the arteries.Such occlusion processes in the subclavian artery or the brachiocephalic trunk are usually of arteriosclerotic origin. In arteriosclerosis, fat, connective tissue, calcium or thrombi are deposited within the blood vessels. The development of atherosclerosis can be promoted by damage and dysfunction of the endothelium. LDL molecules can thus enter subendothelial layers and cause oxidative processes and inflammatory reactions therein. In this way, the characteristic plaques or atheromas develop. Since the brachiocephalic trunk supplies part of the brain, cerebral symptoms may occur depending on the location of the arteriosclerotic stenosis. Symptoms of this type are grouped under the term subclavian-steal syndrome. Peripheral symptoms in the sense of arm claudication are also conceivable as part of the phenomenon. Treatment in this case is usually surgical and requires procedures such as bypass or transposition surgery. Percutaneous dilatations with stent implantation have likewise been utilized in the recent past. Vascular disease is not the only context in which the brachiocephalic trunk may reach pathologic relevance. Compression syndromes may also affect the arterial vascular branch. In addition, lesions of the vessel and its branch varieties sometimes occur in the context of tracheotomy in terms of tracheotomy. Such lesions or injuries correspond to a life-threatening condition. Basically, any bleeding of the brachiocephalic trunk represents a life-threatening situation and must be detected and stopped within the shortest possible time to save the patient’s life.
