Lateral thoracic artery
Arteria thoracica lateralis
A paired branch of the axillary artery that runs down the side of the chest along the lower edge of pectoralis minor.
At a glance
- English
- Lateral thoracic artery
- Latin (TA2)
- Arteria thoracica lateralis
- System
- Artery
- Region
- Trunk
- Side
- Paired, left and right
About the lateral thoracic artery
The lateral thoracic artery is a branch of the second part of the axillary artery, the segment that lies behind pectoralis minor. It is sometimes called the external mammary artery. In some people it arises instead from the thoracoacromial or subscapular artery.
From its origin it descends along the lower border of pectoralis minor on to the side wall of the chest. There it lies on serratus anterior, which it supplies, and it also gives branches to pectoralis major and pectoralis minor. Other branches cross the armpit to its lymph nodes and to subscapularis. The long thoracic nerve runs down on serratus anterior a little behind it, and the vessel is accompanied by a vein of the same name.
It forms connections with several neighbours: the internal thoracic artery through the intercostal spaces, the subscapular artery and its thoracodorsal branch, the posterior intercostal arteries, and the thoracoacromial artery's pectoral branch. These links make the lateral chest wall a region with blood arriving from several directions, so the artery can carry collateral flow when the axillary or subclavian artery is narrowed.
Because the vessel runs through the fat and lymph nodes of the axilla, it is met during axillary dissection and when lymph nodes are sampled. It can also feed skin and muscle flaps raised from the side of the chest. The thoracodorsal and lateral thoracic vessels lie close together here, so surgeons need to identify each before dividing either.
Course and supply
- Arises from
- Arises from the second part of the axillary artery, behind pectoralis minor; sometimes from the thoracoacromial or subscapular artery.
- Ends in
- Ends on the lateral chest wall in branches to serratus anterior and the overlying tissues, joining the internal thoracic, intercostal and subscapular arteries.
- Supplies
- Supplies serratus anterior, pectoralis major and minor, subscapularis, the axillary lymph nodes and the skin of the side of the chest.
Anthromica
See the lateral thoracic artery where it really sits, with every layer of the body around it.
- Every layer, one body. Peel from muscle to bone, nerve, vessel and organ, and turn it any way.
- English and Latin. Every structure named the way your exam names it.
- Quiz until it sticks. Short drills on the structures you keep missing.
Free to start. No card.
