A report of an anomalous bifurcation of the right axillary artery in man

The present report describes a variation of the axillary artery and its distribution to the axilla and thorax. In an adult white male cadaver an anomalous bifurcation was found to arise from the second part of the axillary artery. The artery bifurcated into superficial brachial and deep brachiothoracic branches. The lateral thoracic artery had a direct origin from the first part of the axillary artery. From the deep brachio-thoracic branch the following offshoots were evident: the independent anterior and posterior humeral circumflex, the subscapular, and a common trunk for the profunda branchii and superior ulnar collateral. The superficial brachial artery was the apparent con tinuation of the axillary artery in that it bifurcated into the radial and ulnar ar teries.