Tree structure and branching characteristics of the right coronary artery in a right-dominant human heart.

The hierarchic branching tree structure of the right coronary artery in a right-dominant human heart is examined in terms of detailed measurements of lengths and diameters of the individual vessel segments comprising the structure. The results show that, while the right coronary artery in this heart does not supply a large portion of the posterior left ventricular wall, it nevertheless serves the left side of the heart to a greater extent than it does the right side in terms of the number and volume of vessel segments involved. The results show further that on the right side of this heart the right coronary artery exhibits clear features of a "distributing' vessel, but these features change abruptly as the vessel reaches the small region of the posterior left ventricular wall which it serves.