Right-Sided Aorta: A cadaver report and brief discussion of human aortic arch anomalies

We observed an unusual right-sided aorta during routine laboratory dissecti on. The short aortic arch passed to the right side of the esophagus and tra chea and had four branches, from proximal to distal: left common carotid, r ight common carotid, light subclavian, left subclavian arteries. The ligame ntum arteriosum connected the pulmonary trunk to the left subclavian artery and lay to the left of the esophagus and trachea. The left recurrent laryn geal nerve passed under the ligamentum arteriosum while the right recurrent laryngeal nerve passed under the aortic arch. The descending thoracic aort a was situated near the midline, anterior to the vertebral bodies; conseque ntly, the right posterior intercostal arteries were shorter than normal. Th e large veins of the thorax and the other thoracic organs appeared normal.