Aberrant brachial artery: case report of an anatomical variation

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The brachial artery and its terminal branches are the major arterial supply to
the brachium and antebrachium. Variations in the vascular supply in the upper limbs have been
previously documented to occur more in the radial artery, followed by the ulnar artery, but less
commonly in the brachial artery
CASE: An embalmed cadaver was used for gross dissection during the gross anatomy dissection
for postgraduate students at the department of human anatomy of the University of Rwanda.
During the dissection of the right upper arm, an accessory brachial artery was found, branching
from the axillary artery above the unification of the lateral and medial cords of the brachial plexus
(the lateral and medial root of the median nerve).
CONCLUSION: In our case, the aberrant brachial artery originated from the axillary artery and
gave off a muscular branch in the middle third of the arm, which is of clinical importance.