The axillary artery, serving as the continuation of the subclavian artery, typically extends from the lateral margin of the first rib to the inferior margin of the teres major muscle.This case report describes a rare anatomical variation observed in the right axillary artery of a 70-year-old female cadaver.During routine anatomical dissection, we identified an anomalous arterial branch originating from the second segment of the axillary artery that directly vascularized the subscapularis muscle.Notably, the third segment of the axillary artery maintained a conventional subscapular artery with typical branching patterns, including the thoracodorsal artery, circumflex scapular artery, and regular muscular branches to the subscapularis muscle.We provide an additional clarification on the variant branching patterns of the nutrient arteries supplying the subscapularis muscle, and the clinical implications of this variation are discussed with particular emphasis on surgical approaches to the axilla and shoulder reconstruction procedures.This finding underscores the importance of recognizing anatomical variations in axillary artery branching patterns, as such knowledge is critical for optimizing surgical outcomes and prognosis in shoulder interventions.
Zhang et al. (Sun,) studied this question.