coronary artery n.
An artery with origin in the right aortic sinus; with distribution to the right side of the heart in the coronary sulcus, and with branches to the right atrium and ventricle, including the atrioventricular branches and posterior interventricular branch; right coronary artery.
An artery with its origin in the left aortic sinus; with distribution into two major branches, the anterior interventricular, which descends in the anterior interventricular sulcus, and the circumflex branch, which passes to the diaphragmatic surface of the left ventricle, and with the atrial, ventricular, and atrioventricular branches; left coronary artery.
coronary artery Either of two arteries that originate in the aorta and supply blood to the muscular tissue of the heart. |
one of two blood vessels that branch from the aorta close to its point of departure from the heart and carry oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle. Both arteries supply blood to the walls of both lower chambers (ventricles) and to the partition between the chambers. The right coronary artery supplies blood to the right upper chamber (atrium), while the left supplies the left atrium. Blockage of any branch of the coronary arteries causes death of a portion of the heart tissue when it is deprived of oxygen-rich blood (see coronary heart disease).