Besides the carotid arteries, several other vessels provide arterial blood supply to the neck region, and one of them is the thyrocervical trunk and its branches. The thyrocervical trunk arises from the subclavian artery (Read more!) at the level of the anterior margin of the anterior scalene muscle.

It is only about 0.6 inches (1.5 centimeters) short trunk that gives rise to three or four branches that supply the neck.

Branches of the thyrocervical trunk include the following:

Inferior thyroid artery (Read more!) - supplies the thyroid gland; sometimes it gives off the ascending cervical artery, which may alternatively arise directly from the thyrocervical trunk (read below);
Transverse cervical artery (Read more!) - supplies the trapezius and rhomboid muscles;
Suprascapular artery (Read more!) - supplies the posterior part of the shoulder;
Ascending cervical artery (Read more!) - supplies the spinal cord and the meninges, as well as deep and lateral muscles of the upper neck.

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Thyrocervical trunk