Aberrant brachial artery: case report of an anatomical variation

INTRODUCTION: The brachial artery and its terminal branches are the major arterial supply to the brachium and antebrachium. Variations in the vascular supply in the upper limbs have been previously documented to occur more in the radial artery, followed by the ulnar artery, but less commonly in the brachial artery CASE: An embalmed cadaver was used for gross dissection during the gross anatomy dissection for postgraduate students at the department of human anatomy of the University of Rwanda. During the dissection of the right upper arm, an accessory brachial artery was found, branching from the axillary artery above the unification of the lateral and medial cords of the brachial plexus (the lateral and medial root of the median nerve). CONCLUSION: In our case, the aberrant brachial artery originated from the axillary artery and gave off a muscular branch in the middle third of the arm, which is of clinical importance.