Artery development

Vasculogenesis

 * Formation of vessels from blood islets;
 * Mesoderm cells induced to transform into hemangioblasts under the influence of FGF2 (Fibroblast growth factor 2);
 * Hemangioblasts in the center of the islets differentiate into hemopoietic stem cells, peripheral into angioblasts (precursors of endothelial cells) under the influence of VEGF (Vascular endothelial growth factor);
 * The first blood islets appear in the 3rd week in the areas of:
 * Extraembryonic splanchnopleura (yolk sac wall)  first occurrence;
 * Extraembryonic somatopleura (chorionic plate);
 * Cardiogenic region;
 * Germinal stem.

Angiogenesis

 * Formation of new blood vessels by budding under the influence of VEGF.

Development of arteries

 * Vasculogenesis results in the formation of a primary watercourse - includes the dorsal aorta and the cardinal veins;
 * at first we find two dorsal aortas, which later join in the middle part of the embryo, remaining divided only in the anterior and posterior parts;
 * the anterior dorsal aortas are related to the formation of the aortic arches;
 * posterior dorsal aortas give rise to aa. iliacae communes.

Aortic arches

 * They connect the saccus aorticus and dorsal aortas;
 * is related to the formation of gill arches - they form in the 4th-5th week;
 * 6 pairs in total, the fifth is rudimentary;
 * they arise gradually – we never find all of them at once in the embryo (by the time the third aortic arch is formed, the first one already disappears).

Derivatives of the aortic arches

 * 1) Aortic arch;
 * 2) * For the most part it disappears, the remaining section is a. maxillaris;
 * 3) Aortic arch;
 * 4) * for the most part it disappears, the remaining section is a. stapedia and a. hyoidea;
 * 5) Aortic arch;
 * 6) * a. carotis communis is formed from the proximal section, from which a. carotis externa grows;
 * 7) * from the distal part the proximal part of the a. carotis interna is formed (the distal part of the internal carotid artery originates from the dorsal aorta);
 * 8) Aortic arch;
 * 9) * the right one creates the proximal part a. subclavia dextra (the distal part originates from the dorsal aorta and from the 7th intersegmental artery);
 * 10) * arcus aortae is created from the left one;
 * 11) Aortic arch;
 * 12) * rudimental, in 50% of cases it is not created, in 50% it disappears immediately;
 * 13) Aortic arch;
 * 14) * on the right proximal part a. pulmonalis dextra is formed, the distal part disappears;
 * 15) * a. pulmonalis sinistra is created from the left proximal section, from the distal part ductus arteriosus.

With the creation of the 6. arotic arch; the position is closely related to n. laryngeus recurrens, which innervates the derivatives of the 6th laryngeal arch:
 * after the descent of the heart, the recurrent laryngeal nerve wraps around the 6th aortic arch and rises to the larynx;
 * on the right, due to the disappearance of the 5th arch and the distal part of the 6th  arch, it turns around a. subclavia dextra;
 * on the left it turns around the ductus arteriosus.

Ventral branches

 * Aa. vitellinae – merge to form the arteries of the dorsal mesentery of the intestine:
 * truncus coeliacus (supplying the distal section of the foregut);
 * a. mesenterica superior (midgut supply);
 * a. mesenterica inferior (hindgut supply);
 * aa. umbilicales (later backs down from aa. iliacae communes, postnatally as aa. vesicales superiores and ligamenta umbilicalia medialia).

Dorsal branches

 * Aa. intersegmentales (a. vertebralis, aa. intercostales, aa. lumbales, aa. sacrales laterales...);
 * a. subclavia is formed from the 7th intersegmental artery (entirely on the left, only the distal section on the right).

Aa. coronariae

 * Originating from the cells of the epicardium;
 * muscle comes from the epicardium and neural crest cells.

Related articles

 * Embryonic septation of the heart
 * Congenital heart defects
 * Critical Congenital Heart Defects