Brachial artery The median nerve is medial to the brachial artery for most of its course. Femoral artery a leg based artery with a similar function Brachial artery The brachial artery is the major blood vessel of the (upper) arm. It is the continuation of the axillary artery beyond the lower margin of teres major muscle. It continues down the ventral surface of the arm until it reaches the cubital fossa at the elbow. It then divides into the radial and ulnar arteries which run down the forearm. In some individuals, the bifurcation occurs much earlier and the ulnar and radial arteries
Brachial plexus block anesthetic close to this artery frequently leads to a good block of the brachial plexus. The axillary block is commonly performed due to its ease of performance and relatively high success rate. Disadvantages of the axillary block include inadequate anesthesia in the distribution of the musculocutaneous nerve. This nerve supplies motor function to the biceps, brachialis, and coracobrachialis muscles and one of its branches supplies sensation to the skin of the forearm. If the musculocutaneous nerve is missed, it may be necessary to block this nerve separately. This can be accomplished by using a peripheral nerve stimulator to identify the