An Unusual Case of Primate Arterial Pattern in a Human Upper Limb

Abstract

During routine undergraduate dissections of the upper limb, variations on the usual arterial and muscular patterns were observed in a 68 year-old male cadaver. The arterial and muscular pattern found in our specimen is similar to that of some primates in the following terms. 1) Brachial artery duplicity, on the right side, with a superficial brachio-ulnoradial artery. 2) In the right upper limb, the biceps brachii muscle continued with the superficial muscles of the forearm. 3) The brachial artery on the left side, cross over in front of the median nerve, as the only artery of the arm with a network axillary pattern. 4) On both sides, the ulnar artery was superficial and originated at the elbow from superficial brachial arteries. 5) The right anterior interosseous artery intervened in the vascularization of the hand. These results suggest that this may be a case of early detention of human embryonic development and/or the persistence of phylogenetic older patterns. In the literature, we have found no reference to the presence of all these variations in the same individual. The objective of our study was to analyze these variations from an embryological and phylogenetic perspective.