Browse the corpus

The brachial artery is the extension of the axillary artery starting at the lower margin of the teres major muscle and is the major artery of the upper extremity. The brachial artery courses along the ventral surface of the arm and gives rise to multiple smaller branching arteries before reaching the cubital fossa.[1] These branching arteries include the deep brachial artery, the superior ulnar collateral artery, and the inferior ulnar collateral artery. Once the brachial artery reaches the cubital fossa, it divides into its terminal branches: the radial and ulnar arteries of the forearm. The brachial artery and its branches supply the biceps brachii muscle, triceps brachii muscle, and coracobrachialis muscle. The median nerve, a division of the brachial plexus, initially lies lateral to the brachial artery at its proximal segment. At its distal segment, the median nerve crosses the medial side of the brachial artery and lies in the ventral cubital fossa.