Folia Morphol (Warsz). 2025 Nov 6. doi: 10.5603/fm.107912. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The brachial artery is a key vessel supplying the upper limb, and its anatomical variations can have significant clinical implications. One of the most common variations of this vessel is a high division of the brachial artery. This can occur at various levels of the arm and lead to the formation of a brachioradial artery, a brachioulnar artery, or their superficial variants.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was based on the analysis of a case observed during a routine autopsy of a 64-year-old woman, conducted as part of the Normal Anatomy course for medical students at the Department of Normal and Radiological Anatomy of the Medical University of Lublin.
RESULTS: The analysis revealed an atypical course of the arteries in the left upper limb. The brachial artery divided at the level of the upper third of the arm, 2 cm below the lower border of the teres major muscle, giving rise to the brachioradial artery and the brachioulnar artery. The common interosseous artery branched off from the brachioulnar artery in the cubital fossa. The vascular course in the right upper limb was confirmed as typical.
CONCLUSIONS: A high division of the brachial artery is a relatively common anatomical variation, occurring in 10.05% of the population, and therefore requires special attention during surgical and diagnostic procedures. Its most frequent variant is the division of the brachial artery into a brachioradial artery and a brachioulnar artery. The presence of this variation can affect the efficacy and safety of procedures such as angiography, vascular surgeries, or reconstructive surgeries. Further research should aim to standardize the descriptions of anatomical variations in upper limb arteries and establish a unified nomenclature system.
PMID:41195466 | DOI:10.5603/fm.107912
