A cadaveric study on the origins of the profunda brachii artery

Abstract

The aim of this study is to document the incidence of variation in the origin of the profunda brachii (deep brachial) artery in the cadavers donated to the UT Health San Antonio, Texas. Knowledge of such arterial variation is important for proper pre‐procedural planning particularly in surgical subspecialties. The profunda brachii artery is typically the largest branch of the brachial artery in the arm and accompanies the radial nerve along the radial groove as it passes posteriorly around the shaft of the humerus. One hundred upper limbs (right and left) of fifty cadavers were surveyed after routine dissection of the axillary region by the undergraduate medical students. The profunda brachii artery was dissected proximally to its origin and distally in its course through the radial groove. The profunda brachii artery originated from the brachial artery in 95% (95% confidence interval: 88.5% to 98.13%) of upper limbs. In 4% (95% confidence interval: 1.24% to 10.2%) of upper limbs, this artery originated from the subscapular artery, which is a branch of the third part of the axillary artery. In 1% (95% confidence interval: 0.01% to 5.99%) of upper limbs, the profunda brachii artery originated from a common trunk from the axillary artery which also gave rise to the subscapular artery and the anterior and posterior circumflex humeral arteries. Interestingly, these anomalous origins of the profunda brachii artery either from the subscapular artery or from the axillary artery were observed only on the right side of the cadavers. This study emphasizes the need for clinicians to be aware of these anatomical variations when performing surgeries in the axilla and the arm to avoid surgical complications.