Upper and Lower Limb Arteries

• Arteries are blood vessels carrying oxygenated blood from the heart to the body's tissues.
• Major arteries in the upper and lower limbs provide oxygen and nutrients.
• Upper limb arterial supply: subclavian, axillary, brachial, radial, and ulnar arteries.
• Lower limb arterial supply: external iliac, femoral, popliteal, anterior tibial, posterior tibial, and fibular arteries.

Arteries of the Upper Limb

• The subclavian artery supplies blood to the upper limb.
• At the first rib's lateral border, the subclavian becomes the axillary artery.
• The axillary artery passes through the axilla (armpit).
• The axillary artery becomes the brachial artery at the teres major muscle's lower border.
• The brachial artery goes down the arm.
• At the elbow, the brachial artery splits into the radial and ulnar arteries, running down the forearm.
• These arteries create palmar arches in the hand, supplying blood to the fingers.

Subclavian Artery

• Originates from the brachiocephalic trunk on the right and the aortic arch on the left.
• It exits the thorax between the anterior and middle scalene muscles.
• The subclavian artery supplies blood to the neck, chest wall, shoulder, and brain.
• Branches include the vertebral, internal thoracic, thyrocervical trunk, and costocervical trunk arteries.

Axillary Artery

• The axillary artery is a continuation of the subclavian artery.
• Begins at the first rib's lateral border and ends at the teres major muscle's inferior border.
• It supplies blood to the shoulder and axilla.
• The pectoralis minor muscle divides it into three parts.
• The first part has the superior thoracic artery as a branch.
• The second part has the thoracoacromial and lateral thoracic arteries as branches.
• The third part has the subscapular, anterior circumflex humeral, and posterior circumflex humeral arteries as branches.

Brachial Artery

• The brachial artery continues from the axillary artery.
• It starts at the teres major muscle's inferior border and ends at the cubital fossa (elbow joint region).
• The brachial artery supplies blood to the arm.
• Branches include the profunda brachii, superior ulnar collateral, and inferior ulnar collateral arteries.
• Commonly used for blood pressure measurement.

Radial Artery

• One of the two terminal branches of the brachial artery.
• Runs along the radial (lateral) side of the forearm.
• It supplies blood to the forearm and hand.
• Palpable at the wrist, commonly used to measure pulse rate.
• Contributes to the superficial and deep palmar arches in the hand.
• Branches include the radial recurrent, palmar carpal, superficial palmar, and dorsal carpal branches.

Ulnar Artery

• The other terminal branch of the brachial artery.
• Runs along the ulnar (medial) side of the forearm.
• It supplies blood to the forearm and hand.
• Contributes to the superficial and deep palmar arches in the hand.
• Branches include the anterior ulnar recurrent, posterior ulnar recurrent, common interosseous, palmar carpal, and dorsal carpal branches.

Palmar Arches

• Formed by radial and ulnar arteries in the hand as superficial and deep palmar arches.
• Ulnar artery predominantly forms the superficial palmar arch.
• Radial artery predominantly forms the deep palmar arch.
• These arches supply blood to the palm and fingers through digital arteries.

Arteries of the Lower Limb

• The external iliac artery supplies blood to the lower limb.
• It becomes the femoral artery upon passing under the inguinal ligament.
• The femoral artery runs down the thigh.
• The popliteal artery continues from the femoral artery after passing through the adductor hiatus.
• The popliteal artery is behind the knee.
• The popliteal artery divides into the anterior and posterior tibial arteries.
• The anterior tibial artery goes down the front of the leg.
• The posterior tibial artery goes down the back of the leg.
• The fibular (peroneal) artery branches off the posterior tibial artery.
• These arteries provide blood to the leg and foot.

External Iliac Artery

• One of two terminal branches of the common iliac artery.
• It supplies blood to the lower limb.
• Becomes the femoral artery after passing under the inguinal ligament.
• Branches include the inferior epigastric and deep circumflex iliac arteries.

Femoral Artery

• The femoral artery continues from the external iliac artery.
• It begins at the inguinal ligament and ends at the adductor hiatus.
• The femoral artery supplies blood to the thigh.
• Branches include the profunda femoris (deep femoral), medial circumflex femoral, lateral circumflex femoral, and superficial epigastric arteries.

Popliteal Artery

• Continues from the femoral artery.
• Begins at the adductor hiatus and ends at the lower border of the popliteus muscle.
• The popliteal artery supplies blood to the knee joint and surrounding muscles.
• Branches include the superior genicular, middle genicular, inferior genicular, and sural arteries.

Anterior Tibial Artery

• One of two terminal branches of the popliteal artery.
• It runs down the anterior compartment of the leg.
• Supplies blood to the anterior leg muscles and the dorsum of the foot.
• Becomes the dorsalis pedis artery after crossing the ankle joint.
• Branches include the anterior tibial recurrent, posterior tibial recurrent, anterior medial malleolar, and anterior lateral malleolar arteries.

Posterior Tibial Artery

• The other terminal branch of the popliteal artery.
• Runs down the posterior compartment of the leg.
• Supplies blood to the posterior and lateral leg muscles and the plantar aspect of the foot.
• Branches include the fibular (peroneal), posterior medial malleolar, medial plantar, and lateral plantar arteries.

Fibular (Peroneal) Artery

• Also known as the peroneal artery, arising from the posterior tibial artery.
• Runs down the lateral compartment of the leg.
• Supplies blood to the lateral leg muscles, ankle, and foot.
• Branches include the perforating fibular, calcaneal branches, and lateral malleolar branches.

Dorsalis Pedis Artery

• Continues from the anterior tibial artery.
• Runs along the dorsum (top) of the foot.
• It supplies blood to the foot.
• The dorsalis pedis pulse is commonly palpated to assess circulation in the foot.
• Branches include the arcuate, dorsal metatarsal, and deep plantar arteries.

Plantar Arteries

• The posterior tibial artery divides into medial and lateral plantar arteries.
• These arteries supply blood to the plantar aspect (sole) of the foot.
• They form the plantar arch.
• Branches from the plantar arch supply the toes.

Plantar Arch

• Predominantly formed by the lateral plantar artery, with contribution from the deep plantar artery (branch of dorsalis pedis).
• Supplies blood to the plantar aspect of the foot and toes.
• Branches include plantar metatarsal and plantar digital arteries.

This lesson explores the arterial supply to the upper and lower limbs, detailing the major arteries involved. It covers vessels such as the subclavian, axillary, brachial, radial, and ulnar arteries in the upper limb. Additionally it covers the external iliac, femoral, popliteal, and tibial arteries in the lower limb.