<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> Background: The accessory brachial artery (arteria brachialis accessoria) is a rare upper limb vascular abnormality, reported in less than one percent of cases. It is the artery originating from the axillary artery or the brachial artery, which rejoins the brachial artery further along its distal course within the arm or cubital fossa. Its detailed knowledge is necessary in transradial transulnar catheterization during coronary procedures, mainly due to its narrow caliber, which is responsible for the failure of the intervention performance.Objectives: Present a case of uncharacteristic branching pattern of the accessory brachial artery.Method: The case was observed during a routine dissection in the left axilla of a female cadaver at the Department of Anatomy at the Third Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague.Results: The infrapectoral part of the axillary artery gave rise to a branch that descended distally along the medial side of the arm. This artery accompanied firstly the ulnar nerve, then it diverted laterally towards the median nerve and coursed hidden behind it to re-enter the brachial artery within the distal part of the arm, next to the biceps brachii muscle. The calibre of the accessory brachial artery was two mm only.Conclusion: The accessory brachial artery is a rare variant of the upper limb vascular system and its prevailingly narrow lumen can cause a failure of the transradial/transulnar catheterization intervention.</abstract>

Background: The accessory brachial artery (arteria brachialis accessoria) is a rare upper limb vascular abnormality, reported in less than one percent of cases. It is the artery originating from the axillary artery or the brachial artery, which rejoins the brachial artery further along its distal course within the arm or cubital fossa. Its detailed knowledge is necessary in transradial transulnar catheterization during coronary procedures, mainly due to its narrow caliber, which is responsible for the failure of the intervention performance.Objectives: Present a case of uncharacteristic branching pattern of the accessory brachial artery.Method: The case was observed during a routine dissection in the left axilla of a female cadaver at the Department of Anatomy at the Third Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague.Results: The infrapectoral part of the axillary artery gave rise to a branch that descended distally along the medial side of the arm. This artery accompanied firstly the ulnar nerve, then it diverted laterally towards the median nerve and coursed hidden behind it to re-enter the brachial artery within the distal part of the arm, next to the biceps brachii muscle. The calibre of the accessory brachial artery was two mm only.Conclusion: The accessory brachial artery is a rare variant of the upper limb vascular system and its prevailingly narrow lumen can cause a failure of the transradial/transulnar catheterization intervention.

Accessory brachial artery: a case report, embryological background and clinical relevance

Department of Anatomy, Third Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague, Ruská 87, Praha, 10000,

Department of Anatomy, Third Faculty of Medicine,

Department of Histology, First Medical Faculty, Charles University in Prague, Praha, 10000,

Asian Biomedicine

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Background: The accessory brachial artery (arteria brachialis accessoria) is a rare upper limb vascular abnormality, reported in less than one percent of...

Accessory brachial artery: a case report, embryological background and clinical relevance

Article Category: Brief communication (Original)

Published Online: Feb 04, 2017

Page range: 151 - 155

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5372/1905-7415.0501.019

Keywords
Accessory brachial artery, anatomical variation, axillary artery, brachial artery, variant, variation

© 2017

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Accessory brachial artery: a case report, embryological background and clinical relevance

Article Category: Brief communication (Original)

Published Online: Feb 04, 2017

Page range: 151 - 155

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5372/1905-7415.0501.019

KeywordsAccessory brachial artery, anatomical variation, axillary artery, brachial artery, variant, variation

© 2017

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
Accessory brachial artery, anatomical variation, axillary artery, brachial artery, variant, variation