Variation in Branching Pattern and Length of Brachial Artery among Black African Population

Abstract

As the main arterial supply of the upper limb, the normal documented branching pattern of brachial artery is by bifurcation of its terminal branches into radial and ulnar arteries, but due to variations in studies done, two patterns have been identified i.e., bifurcation and trifurcation though there is paucity data in black African population. The length of brachial artery also varies in majority of studies done. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the branching pattern and length of brachial artery as brachial artery is of clinical importance in majority of clinical procedures of the upper arm like blood pressure monitoring and various surgical therapeutic procedures. Methodology: The study was carried out in Maseno, Uzima and Masinde muliro universities human anatomy laboratories where 154 upper limb specimens of 77 cadavers were used. A Cross sectional descriptive study design with stratified sampling method were adopted in the study. Data was recorded in data entry form and later analyzed using SPSS version 26.0. Results: Out of 154 upper limbs 93.5% had normal bifurcation into radial and ulnar arteries,4(2.4%) showed high bifurcation of brachial artery into ulnar and radial arteries, 6(4.1%) had trifurcation into radial ulnar and common interosseous arteries. Mean length of brachial artery was 26. 0cm.There was no statistically significant difference in variation (p=0.333 and 0.564) when correlated with the normal branching pattern. Conclusion: Knowledge regarding the known normal anatomy and variant arterial anatomy of the upper limb, has significant importance, it can guide vascular radiologist, surgeons, and clinicians for accurate diagnostic interpretation as well as in the conduct of interventional and surgical procedures of upper limb. Thus, knowledge on variant anatomy in branching pattern and length of brachial artery is important for clinicians when performing invasive and other clinical procedures to avoid misdiagnosis and surgical related complications, thus each patient should be treated uniquely due to such anatomical variations.