The right coronary artery (RCA) is one of the two branches that arises from the ascending aorta and provide blood supply to the heart. The RCA begins at the coronary ostium, situated usually within the right sinus of Valsalva found in the aortic valve, one of the semilunar valves of the heart.

The RCA gives off in its initial course two arteries: the conus artery, which gives blood to the conus arteriosus, the outflow tract of the right ventricle, and the artery to the sinuatrial (SA) node, a component of the conduction system of the heart.

The RCA descends in the atrioventricular sulcus, giving off a series of small right ventricular branches and a couple of small right atrial branches, it then bends around the acute margin (margo acutus) and passes to the posterior surface of the heart. Just before the RCA bends posteriorly, it will give off the acute marginal artery, usually a thin, longer branch that extends towards the cardiac apex.

Heart - Anterior view. Click on the image for a larger version.

Arising from the terminal portion of the RCA (sometimes from the posterolateral artery) is the artery to the atrioventricular (AV) node, another component of the conduction system of the heart. It is easily understood that stricture or stenosis of the RCA (depending on location) can then lead to damage of the conduction system of the heart.

Human heart and coronary artery anatomy and pathology are some of the many lecture topics developed and presented by Clinical Anatomy Associates, Inc.

Image property of:CAA.Inc.. Artist:Victoria G. Ratcliffe

Sir Percival Pott   (1714 – 1788)

English surgeon and anatomist, Percival Pott was born in London on January 6, 1714. His name has the alternate spelling Percivall. In 1729 Pott started his apprenticeship with a surgeon, William Nourse. At age 22 he received the diploma from the Company of Barber Surgeons, and by age 34 he became a full independent surgeon at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London. In 1753 Percival Pott was elected, with William Hunter, as Master of Anatomy at Surgeon’s Hall

His name is eponymically remembered in “Pott’s fracture”, a condition that apparently he himself suffered and that kept him in bed writing several of his most important works. This historical account is refuted by many and could be legend. The fact is that Percival Pott did write about what today is known as “Pott’s fracture”.

Percival Pott was elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society in 1764 and became Governor of the Company of Barber Surgeons in 1765.

Some of Pott’s eponyms:

• Pott’s fracture: Fracture of the fibula superior to the lateral with rupture of the medial ligament and outward displacement of the foot
• Pott’s disease: Spinal tuberculosis with hyperkyphosis
• Pott’s puffy tumor:  Edema of the scalp due to underlying osteomyelitis and suppuration 

Sources:
1. "Sir Percival Pott" Ann R Coll Surg Engl (Suppl) 2011; 93:66–67
2. “Percivall Pott (1714–1788) and chimney sweepers’ cancer of the scrotum” Brown JR, Thornton JL. Br J Ind Med 1957; 14: 68–70
3. "Percival Pott; Pott's fracture, Pott's disease of the spine, Pott's paraplegia". Harold, E. J Periop Pract, 22 (11), 366
4. “The Origin of Medical Terms” Skinner, HA 1970
5. “Dictionary of Medical Eponyms” Firkin, BG; Whitworth JA 1987
6. “Invective in surgery: William Hunter versus Monro Primus, Monro Secundus, and Percival Pott” Ravitch. MM, Bull N Y Acad Med. 1974; 50(7): 797–816
7. “Percivall Pott” Dobson, J. Ann Roy Coll Surg Eng 1972: 50; 50-65
Original image courtesy of "Images from the History of Medicine" at www.nih.gov

The [iliococcygeus muscle] is one of the muscles that forms the pelvic diaphragm. It is the more superficial and one of the two muscular components of the levator ani muscle, the other one being the pubococcygeus muscle.

The iliococcygeus muscle attaches anterolaterally to a thickening of the deep fascia of the obturator internus muscle called the Arcus Tendineous Levator Ani (ATLA).

It attaches posteriorly to the sacrococcygeal region and posteromedially it attaches to a medial ligamentous structure that stretches between the anal canal and the coccyx, the anococcygeal ligament or anococcygeal raphe.

The [pubococcygeus muscle] is one of the muscles that forms the pelvic diaphragm. It is the deepest and one of the two muscular components of the levator ani muscle, the other one being the iliococcygeus muscle.

The pubococcygeus muscle attaches anteriorly to the posterior aspect of the body of the os pubis or pubic bone, leaving a gap or hiatus anteriorly which allows passageway of the deep dorsal vein of the penis in the male or the deep dorsal vein of the clitoris in the female.

Anterolaterally, the pubococcygeus muscle attaches to a thickening of the deep fascia of the obturator internus muscle called the Arcus Tendineous Levator Ani (ATLA).

Several subcomponents are described in the pubococcygeus muscle, one of them being the puborectalis muscle. This muscle is the medial component of the pubococcygeus, it attaches anteriorly to the pubic bone and arches posterior to the anal canal, kinking it and being one of the components of fecal continence.

Dura Mater: Latin terms meaning [tough mother]. The dura mater is the outermost of the three meninges. It is quite tough, forming a sac containing the spinal cord and brain, known as the dural sac or thecal sac. The image, from a book by Andreas Vesalius, shows a head with the dura mater in situ (label "A").

For more information on the meninges, click here.

Original images from Andreas Vesalius' "De Humani Corporis Fabrica; Libri Septem" (1543) 

This suffix [-(o)centesis] arises from the Greek [kentesis], meaning "to tap" or "to perforate", referring to a needle or trocar.  In practical terms, this suffix means "needle aspiration of". Examples of its use are:

- Pericardiocenteses: Needle aspiration of the pericardium
- Thoracocentesis: Needle aspiration of the thorax. The use of the term "thoracentesis" is wrong!
- Amniocentesis: Needle aspiration of the amniotic sac.
- Arthrocentesis: Needle aspiration of a joint