Saturday Studies - Axillary Artery!

Today's focus was the axillary artery.  

OK, from the heart blood goes through the aorta and runs into the brachiochephalic artery which then becomes the the right subclavian artery (as opposed to the left common carotid a. and left subclavian a. on the other side) and once the subclavian artery passes to the lateral side of the first rib it's called the Axillary artery and maintains that name until it passes a point even with the inferior border of the teres major muscle.  

From the lateral edge of the 1st rib until the medial side of the pectoralis minor muscle, we may refer to the 1st part of the axillary artery.  There are three parts (1, 2 and 3) and each part also corresponds to the number of branches emminating from the axillary artery.  In part one we have one branch, the superior thoracic a. 

The second part of the axillary artery is the portion which runs deep to the pectoralis minor muscle and contains two branches

1.  the thoracoacromial trunk and 

2.  the lateral thoracic a.

The thoracoacromial trunk has four branches itself - those being the acromial branch, clavicular branch, deltoid branch and the pectoral branch.

the lateral thoracis artery supplies the serratus anterior muscles.

the third part of the axillary artery runs from the lateral border of the pectoralis minor muscle to the inferior border of the teres major muscle (whose insertion is on the medial lip of the intertubercular groove of the humerus)

the three branches ...

1.  The subscapular artery which branches off into the circumflex scapular artery after which point the subscapular artery becomes the thoracodorsal artery

2 & 3 are pretty much related - here we have the anterior and posterior circumflex humeral arteries.

That's pretty much it.  About the only other thing I could mention is that the subclavian artery runs superior to the 1st rib and deep to the clavicle.  It's hard to believe I spent most of the day on this but, I kind of know it pretty well now.  Much more to learn - I've really got to rachet up my learning/studying tomorrow.

Many test over the next two weeks - 

3/17 Tue - Anatomy

3/18 Wed - Histo exam 2 and Spinal posters due for spinal anatomy

3/20 Fri - Anatomy quiz - Spinal Anatomy Exam #4

3/25 Wed - Biochemistry Lab Quiz #4

3/26 Thur - Anatomy Regions 14 & 15

3/27 Fri - Histology Lab test

I guess that isn't so bad - we've had worse!  :)