Encyclopedia entry

Lateral Thoracic Artery

Published on 9 August 2026Version 1

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Abstract

This artery may arise from the thoracoacromial (12% of individuals, Poynter). The lateral thoracic may be replaced by or it may replace the thoracodorsal. On rare occasions it gives rise to the ulnar artery, and itself may be a branch of the subscapular (8%, Poynter). In about 24% of individuals the lateral thoracic is doubled. Poynter found the distribution to the intercostal spaces to be irregular; the second space received no supply in 15% and the axillary sent another branch to supply this intercostal space in 17%.

This artery may arise from the thoracoacromial (12% of individuals, Poynter).

The lateral thoracic may be replaced by or it may replace the thoracodorsal.

On rare occasions it gives rise to the ulnar artery, and itself may be a branch of the subscapular (8%, Poynter).

In about 24% of individuals the lateral thoracic is doubled.

Poynter found the distribution to the intercostal spaces to be irregular; the second space received no supply in 15% and the axillary sent another branch to supply this intercostal space in 17%.

Riferimenti dell’opera originale

Elenco riportato come compare nella fonte, senza normalizzazione dei formati bibliografici.

See references listed under Axillary (artery) and Supreme thoracic , also -
Kropp, B.N. (1951) The lateral costal branch of the internal mammary artery. J. Thoracic Surg. 21:421-425.

Anatomical classification

Systems:: Cardiovascular system

Content provenance

Adaptation

Adaptation of «Lateral Thoracic Artery — Illustrated Encyclopedia of Human Anatomic Variation: Opus I: Muscular System» by Ronald A. Bergman, Adel K. Afifi, Ryosuke Miyauchi. Source: https://www.anatomyatlases.org/AnatomicVariants/Cardiovascular/Text/Arteries/ThoracicLateral.shtml Original work distributed under the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.it). Adaptation by Redazione AIVA. Changes from the original: Testo originale inglese riprodotto integralmente e riorganizzato nel formato scheda del portale (sintesi, testo, riferimenti), senza modificarne le affermazioni. La traduzione italiana non è ancora stata eseguita, e la pagina lo dichiara. Le figure non sono state copiate: sono collegate alla pagina d’origine. This publication is not approved or endorsed by the authors of the original work.

Licence

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