Anatomical Study of Variations in the Origin of Axillary Artery Branches and Its Clinical Emphasis

Abstract

Introduction: Axillary artery, one of the most important arteries of the upper limb is gaining increasing interest in the cardiac and cardiopulmonary bypass surgeries. The present study describes the number of branches arising from axillary artery and variations in their origin. Subjects and Methods: 40 upper limbs from 20 adult embalmed human cadavers of both the sexes were studied by dissection method at the Department of Anatomy, MVJ Medical College, and Bangalore. Results: The number of branches arising from axillary artery varied from 4 -7.The most common variation in the present study was observed in the origin of subscapular artery(15%), followed by posterior circumflex humeral (10%), anterior circumflex humeral & lateral thoracic (7.5% each) and superior thoracic artery (2.5%). Any type of variation in the origin of thoracoacromial artery was not found in the present study. Conclusion: Knowledge of variations in the origin of axillary artery branches is of immense significance to anatomists, anaesthetists, cardiovascular and orthopaedic surgeons during surgical exploration of axilla, during flap or reconstructive surgeries, shoulder dislocation and for radiologists during angiography.