Bilateral alar thoracic artery.

During a routine dissection a superficial artery was observed coursing subcutaneously at the anterior border of the axillary base towards the thoracic wall and bilaterally at the lower border of the pectoralis major muscle. On the right side it originated from the 3rd part of the axillary artery but on the opposite side the origin was from the first centimetre of a left radial artery originating directly from the axillary artery together with the left brachial artery. Apart from the bilateral absence of the deep brachial artery, no other anomalies were identified at this level. This variant corresponds to the alar thoracic artery, an unusual and rarely reported artery. The literature on the subject contains no reference either to the bilateral evidence for the alar thoracic artery or to the possibility of an origin from a high radial artery. The presence of such an alar thoracic artery may interfere with surgical access within the axillary fossa and should be taken into consideration.