Variant Anatomy in Termination of the Brachial Artery in a Black African Population: A Cadaveric Study | Chapter 9 | Medical Science: Recent Advances and Applications Vol. 9

 

Background: The brachial artery (BA) is the main arterial trunk of the arm, acting as the direct extension of the axillary artery (AA). As the main arterial supply of the upper limb, the BA terminates by dividing into the ulnar and radial arteries about 1cm from the neck of the radius, as documented in standard anatomy textbooks. However, due to variations in results from different studies, BA may terminate at the level of the neck of the radius, radial tuberosity, mid arm and proximal arm. Based on its clinical utility, such as blood pressure monitoring and surgical procedures, a few reported disparities in certain populations and paucity of data, especially in the black African population, exploration of variations in termination of BA is warranted.

 

Objective: This study sought to evaluate variation in the termination of the brachial artery among the black African population.

 

Methodology: This study was carried out in three human anatomy laboratories in western Kenya, namely Maseno, Masinde Muliro and Uzima universities by undergraduate medical students during their routine dissection. This was a cross-sectional descriptive study in which 77 cadavers (n=154) upper limb specimens of the black African population were sampled using a stratified sampling technique. Data on termination of BA, laterality of the upper limb and sex of the cadaver were recorded in a data entry form. The brachium region was exposed to access the brachial artery, where its course to termination was assessed. Descriptive statistics were used to assess the frequency distribution of variant termination, while the Chi-square was used to determine the difference in proportion of normal termination and the cumulative variation of termination of BA with regard to the laterality of the upper limb. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 26.0. (IBM, New York, USA).

 

Results: Out of 154 upper limbs studied, the majority (89.0%) had a normal termination at the radial neck, while 7.8% terminated at the radial tuberosity. A small percentage of the upper limbs (1.3% and 1.9%) had termination at midarm and proximal arm, respectively. In this study, variation in the termination of the brachial artery was more common in males as compared to females. There was no statistically significant difference in variation in the left and right limbs (p=0.333 and p= 0.564), respectively, relative to the normal termination.

 

Conclusion and Recommendations: Although variations in the termination of the brachial artery have been observed among the selected population, these deviations from the typical anatomical pattern are not statistically significant; however, they remain clinically significant. Termination at the radial tuberosity is the most common variant and is more common in men than in women. Understanding variant termination of BA among black African populations is key to all health care professionals, especially surgeons, radiologists, anatomists and medical students, as such variants may lead to misdiagnosis and postoperative complications. Thus, further population and race-specific studies need to be undertaken on such variants.

 

 

Author(s) Details

Oyale Warren Ayonga
School of Medicine, Maseno University, P.O. Box, 3275-40100, Kisumu, Kenya.

 

Paul Kosiyo
School of Medicine, Maseno University, P.O. Box, 3275-40100, Kisumu, Kenya.

 

Willis Oyieko
School of Medicine, Maseno University, P.O. Box, 3275-40100, Kisumu, Kenya.

 

Please see the book here:- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/msraa/v9/5999