Lateral thoracic artery

Artery: Lateral thoracic artery
Lateral thoracic artery and the axillary artery, with its other branches - anterior view of right upper limb and thorax.
Latin	arteria thoracalis lateralis
Gray's	subject #149 588
Supplies	Serratus anterior muscle Pectoralis major muscle
Source	axillary artery
Vein	lateral thoracic vein
Dorlands / Elsevier	a_61/12156319

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

In human anatomy, the lateral thoracic artery (or external mammary artery) is a blood vessel that supplies oxygenated blood to the lateral structures of the thorax and breast.

It originates from the axillary artery and follows the lower border of the Pectoralis minor muscle to the side of the chest, supplies the Serratus anterior muscle and the Pectoralis major muscle, and sends branches across the axilla to the axillary glands and Subscapularis muscle; it anastomoses with the internal thoracic artery, subscapular, and intercostal arteries, and with the pectoral branch of the thoracoacromial artery.

In the female it supplies an external mammary branch which turns round the free edge of the Pectoralis major and supplies the mamma.

External link

• Lateral+thoracic+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 As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.