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Anatomy Atlases: Illustrated Encyclopedia of Human Anatomic Variation: Opus II: Cardiovascular System: Arteries: Upper Limb: Subscapular Artery

Illustrated Encyclopedia of Human Anatomic Variation: Opus II: Cardiovascular System: Arteries: Upper Limb

Subscapular Artery

Ronald A. Bergman, PhD
Adel K. Afifi, MD, MS
Ryosuke Miyauchi, MD

Peer Review Status: Internally Peer Reviewed


Poynter considered this artery the most constant of the axillary branches.

This artery may arise from the thoracoacromial (6% of Poynter's series of 200 cadavers).

Occasionally, the subscapular arises from the second part of the axillary (15%), and it may also arise from the brachial.

Quite often it arises from a common trunk with one or both circumflex humeral arteries (15%).

It may arise as a branch from the lateral thoracic, posterior circumflex humeral, or profunda brachii.

The posterior circumflex humeral artery may arise from, or form a common trunk (15%) with, the subscapular artery. The posterior circumflex humeral artery is a branch of the subscapular in 10% and the profunda brachii in 2% of individuals.

In one documented case, the subscapular arose as a branch of the inferior thyroid.

Usually, the circumflex scapular precedes the thoracodorsal in branching order but in 12% the latter appears first. In 4% of Poynter's cases the circumfex scapular was a separate branch of the axillary artery.

The subscapular artery has a variety of origins:

1. Directly from the subclavian artery

22%

2. Directly from the axillary artery

1%

3. From the stem f the inferior thyroid artery

60%

4. From a common trunk with the superficial cervical artery

8%

5. From a common trunk with the superficial cervical and posterior (dorsal) scapular arteries

2%

6. From a common trunk with the dorsal scapular artery

6%

from Dubreuil-Chambardel, 1926


References

Bintot, -. (1827) Anomalie de l'sous-scapulaire. Bull. et Mém. de la Soc. Anatomique de Paris 1827:35.

Dubreuil-Chambardel, L. (1926) Variations des Artères du Membre Superieur. Masson et Cie, Paris.

Mauclaire, -. (1892) Anomalie de l'artère sus-scapulaire venant s'enrouler en 8 de chiffre dans le creux sous claviculaire. Bull. et Mém. de la Soc. Anatomique de Paris 1892:184.

See also references for the Supreme thoracic or Lateral thoracic arteries.

 

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