Aberrant Origin and Variant Patterns of Branching of the Right Subclavian Artery: A Cadaveric Study

Background: The origin and branching pattern of the right subclavian artery usually depict so many variations from the standard textbook descriptions. The subject, the anatomical study of the right subclavian artery is taken up in view of its clinical importance. They are subclavian steal syndrome, various aneurysms, and dysphagia lusoria. Materials and Methods: The present study has been done on 50 fetal and 50 adult cadavers to establish the frequency of the abnormal origin of right subclavian artery, prevalence of the deviations of branching from the usual description, and to analyze the data with the previous studies. The dissection has been done in both fetal and adult cadavers as the number of adult cadavers is limited for the study and not for comparative purposes. Results: The origin of the right subclavian artery from the arch of aorta is 1% in the present study which is in accordance with the previous studies. The normal branching pattern of thyrocervical trunk is found only in 72%. Conclusion: The origin of aberrant right subclavian artery is one of the congenital abnormalities of the arch of aorta and it should be properly evaluated in surgical procedures. The internal thoracic artery is used for revascularization in coronary artery diseases, and it is important to be aware of the variation concerning the internal thoracic artery.