Variants of branching of the upper limb arteries

Abstract

Background: The study of anatomical variability is a component of one of the largest compartments of anatomy and it is a current direction of the modern morphology, conditioned by the nowadays requirements of practical medicine. The presence of anatomical variants is closely related to the abnormal development of the arterial system during intrauterine life, mainly that of the primary axial artery of the upper limb. Those variants do not lead to functional disorders, but they may become fatal under certain circumstances. Material and methods: During the dissection of a 60-year-old male cadaver an unusual arterial variant was found out on the right upper limb, using classical methods of the upper limb arteries dissection. Results: In its retropectoral part the axillary artery was bifurcated into two arterial trunks, the brachioradial and brachioulnar arteries. The brachioradial artery represented the anterior trunk of the axillary artery bifurcation, having a superficial trajectory, while the brachioulnar artery was the posterior and deeply located one. In the specialty references, the brahioradial and brachioulnar arteries are defined as high origin of radial and ulnar arteries, which arise more common from the brachial artery and less frequently from the axillary one. Conclusions: The variants of origin and trajectory of the upper limb arteries are of clinical significance to both imagists and vascular surgeons. The imagists may misinterpret the angiographic images with such vascular patterns and surgeons may encounter difficulties in surgery at that level.