High Bifurcation of Brachial Artery and its Clinical Significance

The brachial artery is the direct continuation of the third part axillary artery at the lower border of teres major muscle and normally it terminates about a centimeter distal to elbow joint (at the level of neck of the radius) by dividing into radial and ulnar arteries. This study was done on 18 cadavers which were available in the department of anatomy and the aim was to determine and find out the variations in division pattern of the main artery of the arm; brachial artery.

All the cadavers were dissected, and we found that two out of eighteen cadavers have the variation. In the first cadaver a bilateral short segment (approximately 1 cm from its origin) of the brachial artery which divide into radial and ulnar arteries at the level of the upper third of the arm. In the second cadaver, a unilateral high bifurcation of brachial artery was found in left upper limb and this was at a level nearly middle third of the arm. The general physicians, surgeons, and radiologists must be mindful to these possible anatomical variations of the brachial artery, in their daily medical diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.

Author(s): George Joseph Lufukuja

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