Upper limb
Vertebral artery
Arteria vertebralis
- Origin
- First and major branch arising from the posterosuperior aspect of the first part of the subclavian artery
- Insertion
- Ascends through transverse foramina of C6–C1, enters the skull via foramen magnum, and joins its counterpart to form the basilar artery
- Function
- Supplies blood to the cervical spinal cord, brainstem, cerebellum, and posterior cerebral hemispheres (circle of Willis)
- Innervation
- Vertebral sympathetic plexus
- Movement & chain
- Winding suboccipital course around the atlas; vulnerable to stretch and shear in extreme cervical rotation/extension
- Palpation
- Not palpably accessible due to bony protective encasement
- Clinical
- Vertebral artery dissection (stroke in young adults after trauma/manipulation), vertebrobasilar insufficiency (VBI, dizziness, ataxia)
- Segmental innervation
- C1–C6 cervical spine segment
- In clinical practice
- Screening for vertebrobasilar insufficiency prior to cervical high-velocity manipulation in manual physical therapy
- Region in the model
- Upper limb