Right Coronary Artery

The right coronary artery, or RCA, originates above the right portion of the aortic valve and runs in the groove that separates the right atrium from the right ventricle as it moves towards the bottom or inferior portion of the heart.

The acute marginal coronary artery is given off in the proximal, or early course, of the artery, while the terminal or distal portion of the RCA gives off the posterior descending artery or PDA. The PDA runs in the bottom of the heart in a groove that separates the left and right ventricles and supplies branches to the lower portion of the septum, or partition, between the two ventricles. In 15% of cases, RCA is non-dominant and the Circ supplies the PDA branch.

The RCA also supplies the postero-lateral artery or PLA to the lower back portion of the left ventricle, and the right ventricular branch to the right ventricle.