Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Musculophrenic
Introduction
The Musculophrenic Artery arises from the internal thoracic artery, directed obliquely downward and lateralward, behind the cartilages of the false ribs; it perforates the diaphragm at the eighth or ninth costal cartilage, and ends, considerably reduced in size, opposite the last intercostal space.
It gives off intercostal branches to the seventh, eighth, and ninth intercostal spaces; these diminish in size as the spaces decrease in length, and are distributed in a manner precisely similar to the intercostal arteries from the internal thoracic artery.
The musculophrenic also gives branches to the lower part of the pericardium, and others which run backward to the diaphragm, and downward to the abdominal muscles.
External links
- Template:EMedicineDictionary
- Template:SUNYAnatomyLabs – “Thoracic wall: Branches of the Internal Thoracic Artery”
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]