Bilateral superficial brachial artery and high origin of common interosseous artery – a rare variation

Shilpa SONARE, Praful NIKAM

Abstract

Brachial artery is the continuation of axillary artery just below the lower border of teres major muscle and then by giving various branches in the arm, it get divided into two terminal branches in the cubital fossa –the radial and the ulnar arteries. In the present study, we got a rare variation of branching pattern of brachial artery. The brachial artery just below the lower border of teres major muscle get divided into superficial brachial artery and deep branch that is common interosseous artery. The ulnar artery, instead of passing deep to both heads of the pronator teres, passed superficial to both heads of the pronator teres, and also superficial to the flexor carpi radialis, the palmaris longus and the flexor digitorum superficialis muscles. The deep branch of the brachial artery passed along with the median nerve. The artery and the median nerve passed deep to both the heads of the pronator teres muscle and the artery branched into anterior and posterior interosseus arteries that followed the usual course thereafter. This deep branch was the common interosseus artery which originated high in the arm and was larger and deep to the superficial brachial artery.