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Thoracodorsal artery: anatomy, location and function

A branch of the subscapular artery to latissimus dorsi. It supplies latissimus dorsi and serratus anterior.

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Structures

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Highlighted in the model: Thoracodorsal 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.

Thoracodorsal artery at a glance

What it is
A branch of the subscapular artery to latissimus dorsi.
Location
It arises from the subscapular artery and runs with the thoracodorsal nerve.
Function
It supplies latissimus dorsi and serratus anterior.
Body system
Cardiovascular · paired (left and right)
FMA ID
FMA66322 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)

Key facts

  • It accompanies the thoracodorsal nerve along the lateral border of the scapula into latissimus dorsi.

Clinical relevance

It is the pedicle for latissimus dorsi flaps used in breast reconstruction.

Structures next to the thoracodorsal artery

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

References

  1. Foundational Model of Anatomy: Thoracodorsal artery (FMA66322). 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.