The subscapular artery, the largest branch of the axillary artery, 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 So ...

, 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 eith ...

, 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 norm ...

with the lateral thoracic and

intercostal arteries The intercostal arteries are a group of arteries that supply the area between the ribs ("costae"), called the intercostal space. The highest intercostal artery (supreme intercostal artery or superior intercostal artery) is an artery in the hu ...

, and with the descending branch of the dorsal scapular artery (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 anato ...

and then the thoracodorsal artery. From the thoracodorsal artery 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 ...

, while the

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

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