Axillary artery
From Freepedia
Image:Axillary a.gif In human anatomy, the axillary artery is a large blood vessel that conveys oxygenated blood to the lateral aspect of the thorax, axilla (armpit) and upper limb. Its origin is at the lateral margin of the first rib, before which it is called the subclavian artery.
It has several smaller branches. In order, when traveling from the heart, they are:
- Superior thoracic artery,
- Thoracoacromial artery,
- Lateral thoracic artery,
- Subscapular artery,
- Anterior circumflex humeral artery and
- Posterior circumflex humeral artery.
After passing the lower margin of teres major it becomes the brachial artery. The axillary artery is accompanied by the axillary vein along its length. In the axilla, it is surrounded by the brachial plexus.
The branches can be remembered with the mnemonic "Screw The Lawyers Save A Patient."
External links
- Mnemonics for the axillary artery - MedicalMnemonics.com
- Axillary artery - Gray's Anatomy
