Superficial brachioulnar artery in man

The individual arterial pattern of the upper limb is considerably variable (11-24%) and relevant for intraarterial interventions performed by cardiologists, plastic and vascular surgeons, radiologists, anaesthesiologists, transplant specialists, orthopaedists and neurosurgeons. Arterial variants in the upper limb result from modifications in the maintenance and regression of the initial capillary plexus, which forms dominant arterial channels and gradually expands into the growing upper limb bud between stages 12 and 21. In this case report we present the superficial brachioulnar artery with its external diameter of 3 mm and length of 525 mm, and of relevant course in the left upper limb of a 78-year-old male Caucasian formalin-fixed cadaver. The superficial brachioulnar artery unusually started with the superior part of axillary artery, presented the following five parts: axillary, brachial, cubital, antebrachial and palmar, and was finally continuous with the superficial palmar arch. The typical ulnar artery was somewhat hypoplastic and limited to the forearm. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report in the professional literature to describe the start of the superficial brachioulnar artery with the superior part of axillary artery. We conclude the individual arterial pattern of the upper limb to be indispensably recognised preoperatively, so as to circumvent any unwanted injuries to the superficial brachioulnar artery that is considerably large, overlies the antebrachial fascia and supplies the superficial palmar arch.