Tumala, Ruby Jean R.

MD 1

ACTIVITY 5 GROSS
BLOOD SUPPLY OF THE UPPER EXTREMITY ANATOMY
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

At the end of the session the medical student should be able to:
1. Know the blood supply of the upper extremities.
2. Identify the origin and continuation of the axillary artery
3. Identify the parts of the axillary artery
4. Enumerate the branches of the axillary artery
5. Describe the formation and drainage of the axillary vein
6. Enumerate the blood vessels and nerves on each compartment of the arm
7. Study the anatomical relationships of the blood vessels, nerves, and muscles of the arm
8. Trace the brachial artery and its major branches
9. Name the neurovascular contents of the superficial fascia.
10. Discuss the blood supply of the forearm
11. Discuss the superficial and deep palmar arterial arches.
12. Correlate anatomical terminology with actual body parts
13. Demonstrate effective collaboration skills and professionalism

PROCEDURE:

1. Study the topic “Blood Supply of the Upper Extremity” discussed during the lecture
hour.
2. Watch the video on dissection in Achland’s Anatomy volume 1
3. Answer the following questions and perform the activities using the worksheet
a. Identify the axillary artery and vein. Trace and identify the continuation of the axillary
artery on the arm.
b. What superficial veins can be identified on the arm?
c. Where do these superficial veins terminate?

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 d. Draw and identify the axillary artery and its branches.
e. What structure is used as reference to divide the axillary artery into its 3 parts?
f. What vessel is medial to the axillary artery?
g. Identify the brachial artery. What nerve accompanies the artery?
h. Draw the innervation and blood supply of the arm
i. Give the termination of the cephalic vein?
j. Describe the termination of the basilic vein?
k. On the lateral side, trace the radial artery from the cubital fossa downward. What is its
trunk of origin?
l. Name the vessels that form the palmar and dorsal arterial arch
m. Draw the palm of hand showing the deep and superficial palmar arches. Label

REFERENCES:
1. Clinically Oriented Anatomy Moore, Keith Dalley ,Arthur & Agur Anne
2. Clinical Anatomy by Regions, Snell ,Richard
3. Clinically Oriented Anatomy Moore, Keith Dalley ,Arthur & Agur Ann
4. Clinical Anatomy by Regions, Snell ,Richard
5. Atlas of Human Anatomy, Netter, Frank H.
6. Grant’s Atlas of Anatomy, , Agur, Anne &Arthur Dalley,
7. Grant’s dissector, , Detton, Allan J.,
8. Gray’s Atlas of Anatomy, , Drake, Richard L.,
9. Gray’s Clinical Photographic Dissector of the Human Body, , Loukas, Marios
10. Achland’s Anatomy: https://aclandanatomy.com/ vol.1

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 WORKSHEET

TITLE: Blood Supply of the Upper Extremity

1. Identify the axillary artery and vein. Identify by tracing the branches of the axillary
artery in the arm. Draw and label
The axillary artery is a large muscular vessel that travels through the axilla. It
begins at the lateral border of the 1st rib as the continuation of the subclavian
artery, and ends at the inferior border of the teres major. The axillary vein lies
initially, distally, on the anteromedial side of the axillary artery, with its terminal
part antero-inferior to the artery

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2. What superficial veins can be identified in the arm? Where do these superficial veins
terminate?
Cephalic vein - It runs in the arm lateral to the biceps brachii and perforates the
clavipectoral fascia to drain into the axillary vein.
Basilic vein - runs up in the superficial facia on the medial side of the biceps and
joins the brachial veins to form the axillary veins.
Median cubital vein - It courses anteriorly in the elbow across the roof of the cubital
fossa and empties into the basilic vein on the anteromedial side of the upper limb.
3. What structure is used as reference to divide the axillary artery into its 3 parts?
As it crosses through the axilla, the axillary artery is divided into three parts by
pectoralis minor, as the muscle travels from its origin at the 3rd, 4th and 5th ribs to
its insertion on the medial aspect of the coracoid process.

4. What vessel is medial to the axillary artery?

Medially, the axilla runs its course while being bordered by the cords of the brachial
plexus and their branches which is then enclosed in a connective tissue sheath
called the axillary sheath.

5. Identify the brachial artery. What nerve accompanies the artery?

The brachial artery constitutes the main arterial supply of the arm. It also the
continuation of the axillary artery that begins in the inferior border of the teres major
tendon and ends at the level of the neck of the radius. As it travels below on lateral
side, it accompanies the median nerve, which crosses the artery anteriorly.

6. Give the termination of the cephalic vein?

The cephalic vein drains the dorsal venous network of the hand as it crosses the
anatomical snuffbox and runs superficial to the radial styloid process and then rise
up in the superficial fascia of the forearm. It then communicates with the basilic vein
at the cubital fossa, via the median cubital vein. It will run along the groove between

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 the brachioradialis and biceps brachii. It crosses the clavipectoral fascia and axillary
artery to drain into the axillary vein below the clavicle.

7. Describe the termination of the basilic vein?

The basilic vein runs up in the superficial fascia on the medial side of the biceps.
Midway up the arm, it bores the deep fascia and at the lower border of the teres
major bounds on the venae comitantes of the brachial artery to form the axillary vein

8. On the lateral side, trace the radial artery from the cubital fossa downward. What is its trunk
of origin?
The brachial artery terminates at the cubital fossa where it bifurcates into the ulnar
artery and a smaller radial artery. The radial artery begins in the cubital fossa at the
level of the neck of the radius and passes downward and laterally, beneath the
brachioradialis muscle and resting on the deep muscles of the forearm. In the
middle of its course, the superficial branch of the radial nerve lies on its lateral side.
Distally in the forearm, the radial artery lies on the anterior surface of the radius and
is covered only by skin and fascia. Here, the artery has the tendon of brachioradialis
on its lateral side and the tendon of flexor carpi radialis on its medial side, which is
site for taking the radial pulse. The radial artery then leaves the forearm by winding
around the lateral aspect of the wrist to reach the posterior surface of the hand.

9. Name the vessels that form the palmar and dorsal arterial arch
Superficial and deep arterial arches are the anastomosis between radial and ulnar
arteries. The palmar and dorsal carpal branches of the radial artery participate in
the peri-articular arterial anastomosis around the wrist by anastomosing with the
corresponding branches of the ulnar artery and terminal branches of the anterior
and posterior interosseous arteries, forming the palmar and dorsal carpal arches.

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 10. Draw the palm of hand showing the deep and superficial palmar arches. Label

References:
Moore, K. L. (2014). Chapter 6: Upper Limb. In Moore Clinically Oriented
Anatomy (7th Edition, pp. 713–721). Wolters Kluwer.
Snell, R. S. (2012). Chapter 9 : The Upper Limb. In Clinical Anatomy by
Regions (9th Edition, pp. 343–357). Wolters Kluwer.
Netter, F. H. (2019). Chapter 7 : Upper Limb. In Atlas of Human Anatomy (7th
Edition, pp. 593–595). Elsevier.