Clinically Significant Variation in the Branching Pattern of the Human Axillary Artery – A Case Report

Abstract

Axillary artery begins at the outer border of the rib, divides into 3 parts by the pectoralis major muscle. Though anomalies in the origin, course and branching pattern is not frequent with axillary artery, previous research reports shows different types of anomalies in it. We observed an unusual unilateral variation in a 55 year old male cadaver, during routine dissection, in the branching pattern of the axillary artery. The variation reported in this study is in the second part of the axillary artery where the lateral thoracic and subscapular artery arises from the common trunk which arises at the junction between the second and third part of the axillary artery. Rest of the branching pattern are standard as explained in the gross anatomy text books. As there is a high rate of rupture and damage to the axillary artery during the surgical interventions, the orientation of the axillary artery and its branches is vital for efficient clinical practice. Thus the sound knowledge about the normal, its variation is prerequisite for the clinicians [surgeon, radiologist, orthopedician, anaesthesiologist and clinical anatomist] for accurate diagnosis and surgical intervention. Keyword: Axillary artery, common trunk, lateral thoracic artery, subscapular artery.