Variations in Branching Patterns of the Anterior Circumflex Humeral Artery

Jung, Soo Jung; Park, Won Jin; Heo, Yu Ran; Choi, In Jang; Lee, Jae Ho

Abstract

Anatomic variations in the branching pattern of the axillary artery are common and have been studied by many authors. The origin of the anterior circumflex humeral artery is also various and its association with other variations has been focused recently. This study identified the origin of the anterior circumflex humeral artery, the communication between the musculocutaneous and median nerves, and the third head of the biceps brachii muscle, and then their associations were examined. Axillae of 75 cadavers were dissected and these variations were collected. The anterior circumflex humeral artery arose directly from the third parts of the axillary artery in 82.0% of upper limbs. It also arose as common stem for both humeral arteries in 7.3% of the third part of the axillary artery and in 5.3% of the subscapular artery, respectively. The anterior circumflex humeral artery was absent in 2.7% and two anterior circumflex humeral artery was found in 1.3% of limbs. The communication between the musculocutaneous and median nerves and the third head of the biceps brachii muscle were found in 32.0% and 16.0% of upper limbs, respectively. These variations were not statistically associated with each other. These results may provide deep knowledge about the anatomy of the anterior circumflex humeral artery and contribute to explain its clinical implications.