ANATOMICAL STUDY OF AXILLARY ARTERY VARIATIONS Deepak Arvind Patil * 1 , Asmita Sachin Jadhav 2 , Anupama Srinivas Katti 3 . *1  Assistant Professor, Department Of Anatomy, Government Medical College, Miraj, Sangli, Maharashtra, India. 2  Assistant Professor, Department Of Anatomy, Government Medical College, Miraj, Sangli, Maharashtra, India. 3  Associate Professor, Department Of Anatomy, Government Medical College, Miraj, Sangli, Maharashtra, India. Address   for   Correspondence:       Dr.   Deepak   Arvind   Patil,   Assistant   Professor,               Department   Of   Anatomy,   Government   Medical   College,   Miraj,   Pandharpur Road, Miraj Dist. – Sangli, Maharashtra, India. E-Mail: deepak_bjmc2004@rediffmail.com ABSTRACT: Background   :   The   axillary   artery   is   a   direct   continuation   of      the   subclavian   artery.   The   axillary   artery   is   usually   described   as   giving   off   six   branches. Variation   in   the   branching   pattern   of   axillary   artery   is   not   uncommon.   The   knowledge   of   these   variations   is   of   anatomical,   radiological   and   surgical interest to explain unexpected clinical signs and symptoms. Materials   and   Methods:   Bilateral   dissection   of   axilla   was   conducted   on   10   embalmed   cadavers      during   routine   dissection   and      the   branching   patterns   of the axillary artery was studied. Observations   and   Results:   Unilateral   variations   were   observed   in   three   cadavers.   In   the   first   case,   we   observed   a   unique   variation   of   a   common   trunk coming   from   the   first   part   of   the   axillary   artery   which   gave   origin   to   subscapular,   anterior   circumflex   humeral,   posterior   circumflex   humeral   and profunda   brachii   arteries   .   In   the   remaining   two   cases,   we   observed   a   common   subscapular-   thoracoacromial   trunk   from   the   second   part   of   axillary artery. Conclusion:   The   detailed   knowledge   about   anatomy   of   normal   as   well   as   variant   axillary   artery   is   very   helpful   for   the   surgeons   and   radiologists performing interventional or diagnostic procedures in cardiovascular diseases. KEY WORDS: Axillary Artery, Common Trunk, Variation. References 1 . Standring S , Johnson D, Ellis H , Collins P. Gray's Anatomy. 39th Ed. 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