Anatomical insight into the variable terminal branching pattern of brachial artery: a narrative review

Abstract

Blood to the arm is mainly supplied by the brachial artery, which arises at the termination point of the axillary artery at the level of inferior margin of the teres major muscle. The artery ends by dividing into two terminal branches: radial and ulnar. The bifurcation normally takes place at the cubital fossa or around a finger’s width below elbow at the level of the neck of the radius bone. For the current narrative review, literature published from 2016 to 2022 was searched on PubMed, Google and Google Scholar databases. Across the globe, variation in terminal branching pattern of the brachial artery was observed. In most cadavers, higher termination was observed in the right upper limb. The variability can have adverse effects on the diagnostic, therapeutic and interventional procedures. ---Continue