Clinico-embryological submission of an unilateral anomalous presentation of axillary artery.

OBJECTIVES

Descriptions of the variant arterial pattern of upper limb are not exceptional and are therefore frequently reported in anatomy archives.

BACKGROUND

A noteworthy deviation from the usual branching pattern was observed unilaterally in a single cadaver. This unique division of axillary artery (AA) was present on the right side in an adult human cadaver of Indian origin.

RESULTS

The first part of axillary artery gave off the superior thoracic and thoraco-acromial arteries. Just proximal to the upper border of pectoralis minor the AA was observed to divide into two trunks a medial and a lateral. The lateral trunk continued into the brachium as the usual axillary artery where as the medial trunk displayed the other branches deep and distal to the pectoralis minor muscle. The remarkable feature was the wide caliber of the axillary artery where it bifurcated into two branches. An attempt has been made to dwell upon the embryological basis of the present anomaly.

CONCLUSIONS

The relevance of anomalous arterial pattern of upper limb (U.L.) is realized while performing percutaneous arterial venous catheter insertion into subclavian vein via the infraclavicular route. We advocate a meticulous familiarization of the anatomy of axillary artery and its topographical relationship to other neurovascular structures for the operating plastic surgeon, anesthetist and radiologist (Fig. 1, Ref. 12).