Anomalous division of axillary artery and accompanying abnormal neurovascular relationship - A case study

Abstract

The developing diagnostic and interventional procedures in cardiovascular diseases require a sound knowledge about variations in the arterial pattern and the arterialvariations in the arm are of potential clinical implications as it is a frequent site of injury and also involved in many surgical and invasive procedures. During routine dissection we encountered a unilateral abnormal branching pattern)of left axillary artery in a 60 year old female Sri Lankan cadaver. The third part of the axillary artery divided into two equal size branches: the superficial and the. deep brachial arteries. The superficial brachial artery continued in the arm as the braChialartery proper, medialto the median ner,re. ln the middle of the arm, the median nerve crossed the superficial brachial artery obliquely behind the artery from lateral to medial and situated medial to the superficial brachial artery at the elbow lt gave musculag'bianches in the arm and endeO iniftu.unitalfossa by dividing into ulnar and radial arteries. The commencemen! of deep brachial artery was embraced by the two rootg of the median nerve; therlateral root crossed in front of the deep brachial artery and joined the medial root to form the median nerye in between the superficial and deep brachial arteries. fne m{aian root of the median nerye from its origin passed deep to the superficial bracl;ial artery and was found in Qetween the superficialand deep brachial arteries. the deep brachial artery gave rise to subscapular, anterior and porterior circumflex humeral and profunda brachii arteries. lt terminated by dividing into ulnar collateral arteries. These variations should be known for accurate diagnostic interpretation and to avoid complications duripg the surgery of the axillary region.