SUMMARY During routine dissection of the right upper limb in a male cadaver by the medical students in the department, an unusual artery was found on the side of the chest wall. The anomalous, aberrant artery was the first branch from the first part of the axillary artery. It crossed deep to the superi- or thoracic and lateral thoracic arteries, passed in front of the subscapular artery on the serratus anterior muscle and terminated, distributing that muscle, opposite the 8 th intercostal space. There are known vascular anatomical variations in the supply to the serratus anterior. Due to serratus anterior or serrato-costal flap reconstructive surgery, an anomalous and aberrant vascular pedicle to the serratus anterior muscle is of inter- est to anatomists, surgeons, reconstructive sur- geons and radiologists. Key words: Axillary artery – Reconstruction – Serratus anterior pedicle – Thoracodorsal artery INTRODUCTION The serratus anterior muscle has been used as a flap for reconstruction. It is a reliable muscle flap with a consistently long pedicle, excellent mal- leability, and multipennate anatomy, permitting the coverage of complex three-dimensional wounds. The subscapular artery is the largest branch from the third part of the axillary artery; it divides into the circumflex scapular artery and the thoracodorsal artery, which follows the later- al border of the scapula between the latissimus dorsi and serratus anterior muscles and supplies these two muscles: teres major muscle and inter- costal muscles. The lateral thoracic artery, which is a branch from the second part of the axillary artery, supplies the serratus anterior, pectoral muscles and the subscapularis muscle (Gabella, 1995). MATERIAL AND METHODS During routine dissection of the right upper limb of a male cadaver by the medical students in the department, an unusual artery was found on the side of the chest wall. A careful dissection was made to trace it proximally and distally. The branches of the axillary artery were also traced. OBSERVATIONS The superior thoracic, acromiothoracic, and lat- eral thoracic arteries were normal. The sub- scapular artery, from the third part of the axillary artery, gave the circumflex scapular artery, and the thoracodorsal artery continued along the lat- eral border of the scapula, supplying the sub- scapularis and latissimus dorsi muscles. The aberrant artery to the serratus anterior muscle, 19 cm long and larger than the subscapular artery, was the first branch from the first part of the axil- lary artery (Fig. 1); it passed crossing deep to the superior thoracic and lateral thoracic arteries and continued, in front of the subscapular artery, on the serratus anterior muscle and terminated, dis- tributing that muscle opposite the 8 th intercostal space. Eur J Anat, 7 (1): 63-65 (2003) 63 An aberrant independent origin of the serratus anterior pedicle: Case report S. Rabi, I. Indrasingh, S. Koshy and S. Vettivel Department of Anatomy, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India Correspondence to: Dr. Suganthy Rabi. Department of Anatomy, Christian Medical College, Vellore 632 002, India. Phone: 0091 0416 2262603 Ext 4245/2260545. Fax: 0091 416 2262788/2262268. E-mail: suganthyrabi@cmcvellore.ac.in Submitted: January 10, 2003 Accepted: March 7, 2003