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Subscapular artery: anatomy, location and function

The largest branch of the axillary artery. It supplies the scapular region and latissimus dorsi through its branches.

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Highlighted in the model: Subscapular artery. Click any part to read about it, or switch off “Highlight topic” to see the whole body. 3D data: BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0; meshes simplified and recoloured. The model is an adult male.

Subscapular artery at a glance

What it is
The largest branch of the axillary artery.
Location
It arises from the third part of the axillary artery, runs along the lower border of subscapularis and divides into the circumflex scapular and thoracodorsal arteries.
Function
It supplies the scapular region and latissimus dorsi through its branches.
Body system
Cardiovascular · paired (left and right)
FMA ID
FMA22679 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)

Key facts

  • It contributes to the scapular anastomosis.
  • Its circumflex scapular branch passes through the triangular space, and the thoracodorsal branch accompanies the thoracodorsal nerve to latissimus dorsi.

Structures next to the subscapular artery

The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:

References

  1. Foundational Model of Anatomy: Subscapular artery (FMA22679). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
  2. OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §20.1 Structure and Function of Blood Vessels. Rice University, 2022.
  3. Mitsuhashi N. et al. (2009). BodyParts3D: 3D structure database for anatomical concepts. Nucleic Acids Research 37, D782–D785. Data © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0.

Related anatomy

Explore the whole body in the interactive 3D human anatomy model, or browse the A–Z list of human structures.