Anterior circumflex humeral artery
Arteria circumflexa anterior humeri
- Latin synonym: Arteria circumflexa humeri anterior
Definition
The anterior humeral circumflex artery (a. circumflexa humeri anterior; anterior circumflex artery) considerably smaller than the posterior humeral circumflex artery , arises nearly opposite it, from the lateral side of the axillary artery.
It runs horizontally, beneath the Coracobrachialis and short head of the Biceps brachii, in front of the neck of the humerus. On reaching the intertubercular sulcus, it gives off a branch which ascends in the sulcus to supply the head of the humerus and the shoulder-joint. The trunk of the vessel is then continued onward beneath the long head of the Biceps brachii and the Deltoideus, and anastomoses with the posterior humeral circumflex artery.
This definition incorporates text from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy (20th U.S. edition of Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body, published in 1918 – from http://www.bartleby.com/107/).
