[Right aortic arches: anatomic and embryologic classification]

Right aortic arches are rare but non exceptional abnormalities of embryonic aortic system. Sometimes responsible for tracheal or esophageal compression, they may be totally asymptomatic and fortuitously discovered. They have to be preoperatively identified in order to modify the procedure of an eventual mediastinal surgery. In this review, we describe the embryonic events which lead to these anatomical variations and the anatomosurgical classification used to precisely define their type. This anatomical definition is indispensable to adjust the surgical procedure to the consequent modification of anatomical relationships.