The posterior humeral circumflex artery (posterior circumflex artery or posterior circumflex humeral artery) arises from the third part of the

axillary artery In human anatomy, the axillary artery is a large blood vessel that conveys oxygenated blood to the lateral aspect of the thorax, the axilla (armpit) and the upper limb. Its origin is at the lateral margin of the first rib, before which it is c ...

at the distal border of the

subscapularis The subscapularis is a large triangular muscle which fills the subscapular fossa and inserts into the lesser tubercle of the humerus and the front of the capsule of the Glenohumeral joint, shoulder-joint. Structure The subscapularis is covere ...

Anatomy

Course and relations

It passes posteriorward with the

axillary nerve The axillary nerve or the circumflex nerve is a nerve of the human body, that originates from the brachial plexus ( upper trunk, posterior division, posterior cord) at the level of the axilla (armpit) and carries nerve fibers from C5 and C6. ...

through the

quadrangular space The quadrangular space, also known as the quadrilateral space (of Velpeau) and the foramen humerotricipitale, is one of the three spaces in the axillary space. The other two spaces are: triangular space and triangular interval. Structure The ...

. It winds laterally around the

surgical neck of the humerus The surgical neck of the humerus is a bony constriction at the proximal end of shaft of humerus. It is situated distal to the greater tubercle and lesser tubercle, and proximal to the deltoid tuberosity. Clinical significance The surgical nec ...

Distribution

It is distributed to the

shoulder joint The shoulder joint (or glenohumeral joint from Greek ''glene'', eyeball, + -''oid'', 'form of', + Latin ''humerus'', shoulder) is structurally classified as a synovial joint, synovial ball-and-socket joint and functionally as a diarthrosis and m ...

teres major The teres major muscle is a muscle of the upper limb. It attaches to the scapula and the humerus and is one of the seven scapulohumeral muscles. It is a thick but somewhat flattened muscle. The teres major muscle (from Latin ''teres'', meanin ...

teres minor The teres minor (Latin ''teres'' meaning 'rounded') is a narrow, elongated muscle of the rotator cuff. The muscle originates from the lateral border and adjacent posterior surface of the corresponding right or left scapula and inserts at both the ...

deltoid Deltoid (delta-shaped) can refer to: * The deltoid muscle, a muscle in the shoulder * Kite (geometry), also known as a deltoid, a type of quadrilateral * A deltoid curve, a three-cusped hypocycloid * A leaf shape * The deltoid tuberosity, a part o ...

, and (long and lateral heads of)

triceps brachii The triceps, or triceps brachii (Latin for "three-headed muscle of the arm"), is a large muscle on the back of the upper limb of many vertebrates. It consists of three parts: the medial, lateral, and long head. All three heads cross the elbow jo ...

Anastomoses

It forms anastomoses with the

anterior humeral circumflex artery The anterior humeral circumflex artery (anterior circumflex artery, anterior circumflex humeral artery) is an artery in the arm. It is one of two circumflexing arteries that branch from the axillary artery, the other being the posterior humeral cir ...

, (deltoid branch of)

profunda brachii artery The deep artery of arm (also known as deep brachial artery) is a large artery of the arm which arises from the brachial artery. It descends in the arm before ending by anastomosing with the radial recurrent artery. Structure Origin The deep ...

, (acromial branches of)

suprascapular artery The suprascapular artery is a branch of the thyrocervical trunk on the neck. Structure At first, it passes downward and laterally across the scalenus anterior and phrenic nerve, being covered by the sternocleidomastoid muscle; it then crosses t ...

, (acromial branches of) and

thoracoacromial artery The thoracoacromial artery (acromiothoracic artery; thoracic axis) is a short trunk that arises from the second part of the axillary artery, its origin being generally overlapped by the upper edge of the pectoralis minor. Structure Projecting forw ...

Additional images

File:Gray810.png, Suprascapular and axillary nerves of right side, seen from behind. File:Slide4SSS.JPG, Posterior humeral circumflex artery

References

External links

* * Arteries of the upper limb {{circulatory-stub