Anatomy of the Cardiovascular System Quiz

See Coronary Vessels. The right and left coronary arteries (D) arise from the corresponding aortic sinuses, small expansions at the root of the aorta just above the aortic valve. Their openings are called coronary ostia. These first aortic branches carry oxygenated blood to the myocardium, the muscular wall of the heart. The names aortic sinus and coronary sinus sound similar but describe very different structures: one is an arterial pocket at the aortic root, the other a venous drainage channel. Locate the valve first, then look immediately above it for the coronary origins.

C lies farther along the aorta: the brachiocephalic trunk branches from the arch to supply the right head, neck and upper limb. An origin from the pulmonary trunk (A) is an anatomical anomaly, not the usual coronary arrangement. E places the openings inside the ventricle, below the valve, instead of in the aortic root. The coronary sinus (B) collects blood from cardiac veins and drains into the right atrium; it cannot be the origin of the coronary arteries.