Search
vertebral artery
One of a pair of arteries in the neck supplying blood to the head & brain. The vertebral arteries are the first branches of the subclavian arteries. They join superiorly within the cranial vault to form the basilar artery.
Course:
- the arteries pass through the transverse processes of the 1st 6 cervical vertebrae
Related
vertebral artery dissection
vertebral artery stent
vertebrobasilar disease
General
blood vessel
Properties
FORM: vertebral artery
BRANCHES: anterior spinal artery
posterior spinal artery
posterior inferior cerebellar artery
basilar artery
ORIGIN: subclavian artery
References
Stedman's Medical Dictionary 26th ed, Williams &
Wilkins, Baltimore, 1995
Components
intima; tunica intima
tunica media
vascular endothelium