The subscapular artery, the largest branch of the

axillary artery In human anatomy, the axillary artery is a large blood vessel that conveys oxygenated blood to the lateral aspect of the thorax, the axilla (armpit) and the upper limb. Its origin is at the lateral margin of the first rib, before which it is ...

, arises from the third part of the axillary artery at the lower border of the

subscapularis muscle The subscapularis is a large triangular muscle which fills the subscapular fossa and inserts into the lesser tubercle of the humerus and the front of the capsule of the shoulder-joint. Structure It arises from its medial two-thirds and Som ...

, which it follows to the inferior angle of the

scapula The scapula (plural scapulae or scapulas), also known as the shoulder blade, is the bone that connects the humerus (upper arm bone) with the clavicle (collar bone). Like their connected bones, the scapulae are paired, with each scapula on eithe ...

, where it

anastomoses An anastomosis (, plural anastomoses) is a connection or opening between two things (especially cavities or passages) that are normally diverging or branching, such as between blood vessels, leaf veins, or streams. Such a connection may be normal ...

with the

lateral thoracic In human anatomy, the lateral thoracic artery (or external mammary artery) is a blood vessel that supplies oxygenated blood to the lateral structures of the thorax and breast. It originates from the axillary artery and follows the lower bord ...

and intercostal arteries, and with the descending branch of the

dorsal scapular artery The transverse cervical artery (transverse artery of neck or transversa colli artery) is an artery in the neck and a branch of the thyrocervical trunk, running at a higher level than the suprascapular artery. Structure It passes transversely b ...

(a.k.a. deep branch of the transverse cervical artery if it arises from the cervical trunk), and ends in the neighboring muscles. About 4 cm from its origin it gives off two branches, first the

scapular circumflex artery The circumflex scapular artery (scapular circumflex artery, dorsalis scapulae artery) is a branch of the subscapular artery and part of the scapular anastomoses. It curves around the axillary border of the scapula, traveling through the anatom ...

and then the

thoracodorsal artery The thoracodorsal artery is a branch of the subscapular artery. It travels inferiorly with the thoracodorsal nerve The thoracodorsal nerve is a nerve present in humans and other animals, also known as the middle subscapular nerve or the long s ...

. From the

it supplies

latissimus dorsi The latissimus dorsi () is a large, flat muscle on the back that stretches to the sides, behind the arm, and is partly covered by the trapezius on the back near the midline. The word latissimus dorsi (plural: ''latissimi dorsorum'') comes from L ...

, while the

participates in the scapular anastamosis. It terminates in an anastomosis with the

Additional Images

File:Slide13SSS.JPG, Subscapular artery

References

External links

Illustration at microsurgeon.org

Photo at mvm.ed.ac.uk
* Arteries of the upper limb {{circulatory-stub