An anatomical study of double brachial arteries – a case reportanterior

Superficial brachial artery is one of the major variations of the arterial pattern in the upper limb. During routine anatomical dissection in our department, we observed a case of unilateral double brachial artery in a formalin-fixed female cadaver. Left axillary artery entered into the anterior region of the arm, where it branched into two brachial arteries – the superficial brachial artery (SBA), which was longer, tortuous and with a smaller caliber, and the brachial artery (BA), which was placed deep and medially. In the cubital fossa, covered with an aponeurosis of the biceps brachii muscle, both brachial arteries were connected with an anastomotic vessel. Under this anastomotic branch, in the forearm, SBA continued as the radial artery, whereas BA continued as the ulnar artery. Variations of the arterial pattern in the upper limb are undoubtedly of interest to the anatomists as well as to the clinicians.