Thoracoacromial artery

Artery: Thoracoacromial artery
Branches of axillary artery, including thoracoacromial artery
The scapular and circumflex arteries. (Thoracoacromial branch of thoracoacromial labeled at upper right.)
Latin	arteria thoracoacromialis
Gray's	subject #149 588
Source	axillary artery

The thoracoacromial artery (acromiothoracic artery; thoracic axis) is a short trunk, which arises from the forepart of the axillary artery, its origin being generally overlapped by the upper edge of the Pectoralis minor.

Branches

Projecting forward to the upper border of the Pectoralis minor, it pierces the coracoclavicular fascia and divides into four branches—pectoral, acromial, clavicular, and deltoid.

Branch	Description
Pectoral branch	Descends between the two Pectorales, and is distributed to them and to the mamma, anastomosing with the intercostal branches of the internal thoracic artery and with the lateral thoracic.
Acromial branch	Runs laterally over the coracoid process and under the Deltoideus, to which it gives branches; it then pierces that muscle and ends on the acromion in an arterial network formed by branches from the transverse scapular (a.k.a. suprascapular), thoracoacromial, and posterior humeral circumflex arteries.
Clavicular branch	Runs upward and medialward to the sternoclavicular joint, supplying this articulation, and the Subclavius.
Deltoid (humeral) branch	Often arising with the acromial, it crosses over the Pectoralis minor and passes in the same groove as the cephalic vein, between the Pectoralis major and Deltoideus, and gives branches to both muscles.

Mnemonic

Mnemonics used to remember the four branches are:

• "Cadavers Are Dead People" or "ABCD" where Breast (pectoral).
• "All Dogs Can Pee" or "ADCP" where P (pectoral).
• "CAlifornia Police Department" or "CAPD"
• "packed" or "PACD"
• "All People Can Dougie"

Additional images

• 

  The axillary artery and its branches.

External links

• lesson2nerartveinspectregion at The Anatomy Lesson by Wesley Norman (Georgetown University)
• lesson3axillaryart&vein at The Anatomy Lesson by Wesley Norman (Georgetown University)
• SUNY Labs 04:07-0101 - "Pectoral Region: Thoracoacromial Artery and its Branches"
• SUNY Figs 05:04-12 - "The axillary artery and its major branches shown in relation to major landmarks."
• thoracoacromial+artery at eMedicine Dictionary

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained within it may be outdated.