Axillary Artery and the Variations of Its Branching Pattern in KwaZulu-Natal Populations: A Cadaveric Study

Introduction: the axillary artery (aa) is a significant blood vessel located in the axilla that supplies the lateral thorax, upper limb, and axilla through the six branches it gives off from its course. this artery exhibits variations in origin and branching patterns, but its laterality and sexrelated variations remain poorly explored, especially in the kwazulu-natal (kzn) population. this study aimed to document possible anatomical variations in the origin and length of the aa in the kzn population by sex and laterality. methods: this study was conducted on 20 human cadavers of a white south african ethnic group (40 upper limbs), provided by the discipline of clinical anatomy at the university of kzn–nelson r mandela medical school campus. detailed dissection instructions were followed using grant’s dissector manual to carefully expose and examine the aa’s variations in the origin of its branches and length. results: the third part of the aa had the highest frequency of variations (45%) in both men and women. however, females had the most significant number of variations (54.54%) on the right side in the third part. three types of variations occurred mainly in the third part. the first part had the fewest variations. the length of the aa varied with sex and laterality, but females had a longer average length of 129.10 mm in this study. conclusion: this study reveals that variations in the aa origin and branching patterns differ by laterality and are sexually dimorphic, a finding that could assist surgeons and radiologists in avoiding pitfalls and complications of procedures performed in the axilla.