A Unique Branching Pattern of the Brachial Artery: Coexisting Superficial Ulnar Artery and Persistent Median Artery

The presence of both a superficial ulnar artery (SUA) and persistent median artery (PMA) of antebrachial type is of both clinical and surgical significance. In an 84-year-old female cadaver received through the Gift Body Program at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, the right brachial artery was seen divided into an SUA and radial artery (RA) slightly below the interepicondylar line of the humerus. At the level of the radial neck, the RA sent out the common interosseous artery that then gave off the radial recurrent artery before bifurcating into anterior interosseous artery (AIA) and posterior interosseous artery. The AIA continued to appear to branch into the anterior ulnar recurrent artery and posterior ulnar recurrent artery, as well as a PMA of the antebrachial type. In the hand, the SUA and RA contributed to the complete superficial palmar arch seemingly equally, and the RA was the dominant contribution to the deep palmar arch. Ninety-one other arms were assessed for this variation, and none were observed. Knowledge of an anatomical variation such as this may lead to decreased complications in the planning of surgical bypass grafting.