THE ESOPHAGEAL ARTERIES. THEIR CONFIGURATIONAL ANATOMY AND VARIATIONS IN RELATION TO SURGERY

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Abstract
On the basis of anatomic dissections of 50 cadavers, together with radiographic study of arteries injected with barium sulfate, a description is presented of the arterial blood supply of the esophagus. For the purpose of the study, the esophagus is divided into 4 parts: pars cervicalis, pars bifurcalis, pars thoracalis and pars abdominalis. The pars cervicalis receives its blood supply primarily from the inferior thyroid artery which arises from the thyrocervical trunk of the subclavian artery. The primary supply to the pars bifurcalis is from the bronchial arteries which are branches either of the aorta or of the right 3d or 4th intercostal artery. The blood supply to the pars thoracalis arises mainly from the superior and inferior esophageal arteries, while that to the pars abdominalis generally comes from the left gastric artery. The esophageal circulation is best considered as a shared vasculature, and therefore care must be taken during surgical mobilization in separating the esophagus from such embryologically related structures as the trachea, bronchi and diaphragm. Otherwise the freed segments might be devascularized to a degree incompatible with reparative processes.
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