Study of the relationship between the suprascapular artery and the brachial plexus

The literature concerning the relationship of the suprascapular artery with the brachial plexus is quite limited. The aims of this study were to investigate the different types of relationships between the suprascapular artery and the brachial plexus trunks and to try to clarify their prevalence in the European population. Our study involved the dissection of 100 upper extremities from adults, all of European origin (55 women, 45 men). In the classic description, the suprascapular artery passes in front of the brachial plexus (group A) in the majority of cases, then behind the omohyoid before reaching the superior border of the scapula. There are two other types of relationship with the brachial plexus: the suprascapular artery can pass between the trunks of the brachial plexus (group B) or the artery can pass behind the brachial plexus (group C). To our knowledge there has been only one study on the subject, carried out by Kosugi et al. Our results show a not inconsiderable number of variations in the relationships between the suprascapular artery and the brachial plexus (29%). Although no differences were noted between the sexes, a significant number of individual variations were revealed by the comparative study of dissections performed on both upper extremities of the same individual. Our results suggest that new studies are required to complete these initial anatomical results observed on a small sample of subjects of European origin. The French version of this article is available in the form of electronic supplementary material and can be obtained by using the Springer LINK server located at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00276-002-0026-5.