A Communicating Anomalous Vessel Between the Brachial and Radial Artery: A Cadaver Case Report

BACKGROUND The arrangement of the arm vasculature is known to vary between individuals with a majority being clinically silent. In this report, we describe a rare arterial anomaly in which a branch arises from the proximal brachial artery in the upper left arm and anastomoses with the radial artery near the cubital fossa. CASE REPORT The brachial artery supplies most of the blood to the upper arm and normally bifurcates into the ulnar and radial arteries in the cubital fossa. During our dissection, an aberrant communicating artery was found branching off the brachial artery in the upper arm and anastomosing directly to the radial artery in the forearm. Reports of similar anomalous arteries (vasa aberrantia) have been reported in cadaver case studies, but we present an unusual case where the communicating branch rejoins the radial artery more distally, after the branching of the radial recurrent artery and a muscular branch providing blood supply to forearm muscles. CONCLUSIONS Knowing different variations of arm vasculature, such as the communicating artery presented in this case, is important to reduce risks that can happen in procedures of the arm such as endovascular angioplasty or atherectomy. This also includes understanding irregularities during angiographies due to these abnormalities. Further research can explore the prevalence of this variation and implications of varied arm vasculature.