Third Coronary Artery – An Autopsy Study

Anatomy and functionality of the coronary circulation have been of interest to physicians ever since it emerged that mammalian hearts have their own blood supply. If asked how many coronary arteries the normal heart has, most of the medical students (and many practitioners) would answer "TWO". However, the frequent presence of two right coronary artery ischolar_mains is not generally well appreciated, even though it has been evident to anatomists and cardiac surgeons for centuries.

In this present study, we dissected 550 hearts for a period of 6 months from January 1^st 2011 to 30^th June 2011 in Victoria Hospital, Department of Forensic Medicine, Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, Bengaluru. The incidence, position, course of the third coronary and other forensic importance of the third coronary artery will be discussed in the present study.