Deep artery of arm

Deep artery of arm
Deep artery of arm
	Diagram of the anastomosis around the elbow-joint. (A. profunda brachii labeled at upper right.)
Details
Source	Brachial artery
Branches	Radial collateral ; medial collateral ; branches to the deltoid muscle
Supplies	Deltoid muscle, ; triceps brachii, anconeus
Identifiers
Latin	arteria profunda brachii
TA98	A12.2.09.020
TA2	4634
FMA	22695
	Anatomical terminology [edit on Wikidata]

The deep artery of arm (also known as deep brachial artery) is a large artery of the arm which arises from the brachial artery. It descends in the arm before ending by anastomosing with the radial recurrent artery.

Structure

Origin

The deep artery of arm arises from the posterolateral aspect of the brachial artery, just below the lower border of the teres major.^{[citation needed]}

Course

It follows closely the radial nerve, running at first backward between the long and medial^[1] heads of the triceps brachii, then along the groove for the radial nerve (the radial sulcus), where it is covered by the lateral head of the triceps brachii, to the lateral side of the arm; there it pierces the lateral intermuscular septum, and, descending between the brachioradialis and the brachialis to the front of the lateral epicondyle of the humerus, ends by anastomosing with the radial recurrent artery.

Branches and anastomoses

It gives branches to the deltoid muscle (which, however, primarily is supplied by the posterior circumflex humeral artery) and to the muscles between which it lies; it supplies an occasional nutrient artery which enters the humerus behind the deltoid tuberosity.

A branch ascends between the long and lateral heads of the triceps brachii to anastomose with the posterior humeral circumflex artery; the medial collateral artery, a branch, descends in the middle head of the triceps brachii and assists in forming the anastomosis above the olecranon of the ulna; and, lastly, a radial collateral artery runs down behind the lateral intermuscular septum to the back of the lateral epicondyle of the humerus, where it anastomoses with the interosseous recurrent and the inferior ulnar collateral arteries.