Embryology · Heart and vessels
Aortic arch arteries and their derivatives !
- Embryonic structure
Five pairs of arteries ring the embryo's pharynx; some stay on as carotids, aorta and pulmonary arteries, others vanish.
Updated 2026-11-01
See it in 3D: Ligamentum arteriosum · Recurrent laryngeal nerves · Subclavian artery · Common carotid artery · Internal carotid artery · External carotid artery · Aortic arch · Brachiocephalic trunk · Pulmonary arteries · Vagus nerve · Thoracic aorta
What it is
Each pharyngeal arch gets an artery that links the aortic sac to the dorsal aorta; they appear between weeks 4 and 6 and are never all present at once. Their asymmetric remodeling builds the carotids, the aortic arch, the right subclavian, the pulmonary arteries and the ductus arteriosus. It explains the different course of the recurrent laryngeal nerves and nearly every arch anomaly.
Structure
- Aortic sac: distal dilation of the truncus arteriosus from which the arch arteries arise.
- Paired dorsal aortae: fuse below about the 4th thoracic segment into a single descending aorta.
- Dorsal intersegmental arteries: the 7th gives the left subclavian and the distal right subclavian.
What it becomes
- Common carotids, proximal internal carotids and, from the aortic sac, the brachiocephalic trunk.
- The definitive aortic arch (segment between the left common carotid and left subclavian).
- The right subclavian (proximal part) and the pulmonary arteries (proximal parts).
- The ductus arteriosus, which after birth becomes the ligamentum arteriosum.
Step by step
- Week 4: the 1st and 2nd arch arteries appear and soon regress.
- The 3rd and 4th arch arteries appear, then the 6th, with branches to the lung.
- The dorsal aorta segment between arches 3 and 4 (ductus caroticus) disappears.
- The right dorsal aorta is obliterated between the 7th intersegmental artery and its junction with the left.
- The distal right 6th arch disappears; the left one persists as the ductus arteriosus.
- The heart descends into the chest: the left recurrent nerve is caught under the ductus and the right under the subclavian.
Aortic arch artery and its adult derivative
| Arch | Adult derivative |
|---|---|
| 1st | Part of the maxillary artery |
| 2nd | Hyoid and stapedial arteries (mostly regress) |
| 3rd | Common carotid and proximal internal carotid |
| 4th left | Aortic arch between the left common carotid and left subclavian |
| 4th right | Proximal right subclavian artery |
| 6th right | Proximal right pulmonary artery |
| 6th left | Proximal left pulmonary artery and ductus arteriosus |
Clinical notes
- Double aortic arch: the distal right dorsal aorta persists; a complete ring around the trachea and esophagus.
- Aberrant right subclavian artery: the right 4th arch is obliterated; the subclavian passes behind the esophagus (dysphagia lusoria) and the right laryngeal nerve is non-recurrent.
- Coarctation of the aorta and patent ductus arteriosus form in the same segment of the arch.
- Type B interrupted aortic arch (between left carotid and subclavian) is associated with 22q11.2 deletion.
Test yourself
Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.
Which aortic arch artery forms the common carotid?
The third, which also forms the proximal internal carotid artery.
Why does the left recurrent laryngeal nerve hook under the ligamentum arteriosum and the right under the subclavian?
On the left the distal 6th arch persists (ductus arteriosus); on the right it disappears and the nerve slides up to the 4th arch, the subclavian.
Where does the left subclavian artery come from?
The left seventh dorsal intersegmental artery.
Which arch forms the segment of the aortic arch between the left common carotid and left subclavian?
The left fourth arch.
See it in 3D
The structures of Durgical's 3D anatomy where it is found.
- Ligamentum arteriosum
- Recurrent laryngeal nerves
- Subclavian artery
- Common carotid artery
- Internal carotid artery
- External carotid artery
- Aortic arch
- Brachiocephalic trunk
- Pulmonary arteries
- Vagus nerve
- Thoracic aorta
Related
- Vascular rings and aberrant right subclavian artery
- Coarctation of the aorta
- Patent ductus arteriosus
- Outflow tract: the spiral aorticopulmonary septum and neural crest
- Pharyngeal arches: nerve, muscles, skeleton and artery (the table)
- Fourth and sixth pharyngeal arches: the larynx and the vagus nerve
- The pharyngeal apparatus: arches, pouches, clefts and membranes
- 22q11.2 deletion (DiGeorge): the third and fourth pouches
Related conditions
Educational content on embryonic development; not a guide to prenatal diagnosis or to medicines in pregnancy and no substitute for a health professional's advice. No doses are given.
Sources: Langman's Medical Embryology, 13th ed., ch. 13: Cardiovascular System (Wolters Kluwer, 2015); Vascular ring: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia (National Library of Medicine (MedlinePlus), 2026); Coarctation of the Aorta | Congenital Heart Defects (CHDs) | CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024).
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Representative model, for educational purposes only.