An arterial island pattern of the axillary and brachial arteries: a case report with clinical implications

The variability of axillary and brachial arteries is often associated with neural anomalies in arrangement of the brachial plexus. The current report is focused on the coexistence of two brachial arteries of axillary origin with an atypical median nerve formatted by three (two lateral and a medial) roots in the right arm of a 68-year-old male cadaver. Medially, the brachial artery located in front of the median nerve was named superficial brachial artery and anastomosed with the brachial artery situated posterolateral to the median nerve, hence it is referred as the main brachial artery or brachial artery. Subsequently, the two arteries were recombined and the created arterial complex, like an island pattern, ended dividing into radial and ulnar arteries, at the level of the radial neck. To our knowledge, the combination of the above-mentioned arterial pattern to an abnormally formatted median nerve has not yet been cited. The current neurovascular abnormalities followed by an embryological explanation may have clinical implications.