Esophageal (Oesophageal in British English) arteries are a group of
arteries
An artery (plural arteries) () is a blood vessel in humans and most animals that takes blood away from the heart to one or more parts of the body (tissues, lungs, brain etc.). Most arteries carry oxygenated blood; the two exceptions are the pul ...
from disparate sources supplying the
esophagus
The esophagus (American English) or oesophagus (British English; both ), non-technically known also as the food pipe or gullet, is an organ in vertebrates through which food passes, aided by peristaltic contractions, from the pharynx to the ...
. The blood supply to the esophagus can roughly be divided into thirds, with anastamoses between each area of supply.
More specifically, it can refer to:
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Esophageal branches of inferior thyroid artery
The inferior thyroid artery is an artery in the neck. It arises from the thyrocervical trunk and passes upward, in front of the vertebral artery and longus colli muscle. It then turns medially behind the carotid sheath and its contents, and a ...
(top third)
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Esophageal branches of thoracic part of aorta
The esophageal arteries four or five in number, arise from the front of the aorta, and pass obliquely downward to the esophagus, forming a chain of anastomoses along that tube, anastomosing with the esophageal branches of the inferior thyroid arte ...
(middle third)
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Esophageal branches of left gastric artery
The esophageal branches of left gastric artery are branches which supply the esophagus
The esophagus ( American English) or oesophagus (British English; both ), non-technically known also as the food pipe or gullet, is an organ in vertebra ...
(bottom third)
Arteries
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