Variant Brachial Artery with Incomplete Superficial Palmer Arch - A Case Report

During routine dissection, of the right upper limb of a 70 years old donated embalmed male cadaver in the Department of Anatomy, K.J. Somaiya Medical College, Sion, Mumbai, India, we observed a high level trifurcation of the brachial artery into the radial, ulnar and common interosseous arteries. The brachial artery trifurcated above the cubital fossa in the lower part of the arm. The ulnar artery travelled downward superficial to the superficial flexor muscles of the forearm. The common interosseous artery was longer in length. The common interosseous artery divided at unusual site in the cubital fossa into the anterior and posterior interosseous arteries. There were no associated altered anatomy of the nerves observed in the specimen. The variations were unilateral and the left upper limb was normal. The photographs of the high level trifurcation of the brachial artery into radial, ulnar and common interosseous artery were taken for proper documentation. Topographical anatomy of the normal and abnormal variations of the axillary artery are clinically important for surgeons, orthopaedicians operating on the supracondylar fracture of humerus and radiologists performing angiographic studies on the upper limb. ABSTRACT