The glomic arteries

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Abstract
Serial sections of the glomic arteries from two young women showed them to originate from the external carotid arteries or from branches of them thought to be the superior thyroid arteries. The glomic arteries have a complex histological structure unlike that of the typical systemic muscular artery. The most characteristic feature of the terminal portions of arteries supplying glomic tissue is a highly elastic media which may have a baroreceptor function. More proximally, the arteries show a thick intimal layer of large globular cells reminiscent of glomic chief cells. In view of the changes in size and histological structure that occur in the carotid body in cardiopulmonary disease and the close connexion between the carotid body and its arteries, the authors consider that further detailed studies of the glomic arteries by electron microscopy are indicated to elucidate their structure and function.

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