Left subcostal artery

Looks like

The last paired branch of the chest aorta, running below the twelfth rib.

What it does

Supplies the muscles of the upper abdominal wall and back and the skin over them.

Keeping it well

Can be injured in kidney surgery through the flank; mainly a surgical landmark.

Related conditions

• Aortic aneurysm
• Aortic dissection
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Hypothermia & frostbite
• Kawasaki disease
• Marfan syndrome & connective tissue disorders
• Metabolic syndrome
• Orthostatic hypotension & POTS
• Peripheral artery disease
• Phaeochromocytoma & hyperaldosteronism
• Pre-eclampsia
• Raynaud's phenomenon
• Sepsis
• Shock (circulatory failure)
• Takayasu arteritis
• Turner syndrome
• Vasculitis (GCA & others)