Brachial artery is the chief artery of upper limb. Superficial palmar arch plays an important role in most of the traumatic events and the surgical procedures of the hand. The arterial variations of upper limb are useful for vascular surgeons, interventional radiologists, plastic surgeons. The authors report a case of high origin of superficial ulnar artery with abnormal formation of superficial palmar arch.

Variant origin of the left vertebral artery (LVA) from the arch of aorta is well documented in the literature. Involvement of complex sequential developmental steps in the aortic arch formation results in different patterns of origin of LVA. Morphological variations in the LVA are thought to alter the cerebral hemodynamics and can cause the cerebral dysfunction. Knowledge of the morphological variations of the LVA is useful while performing the head and neck and thoracic surgeries. We here report one of the extremely rare patterns of the LVA origin, in a male cadaver aged about 65 years. LVA and left subclavian artery (LSA) arose as a common vertebro-subclavian trunk from the convexity of the aortic arch. Further, brachiocephalic trunk (BT) gave an unusual artery from its anterior surface. This artery divided into thymic and tracheal branches. Variant origin of thymic branch may be crucial during imaging and thymectomy procedures.

Ilioinguinal nerve is a collateral branch of lumbar plexus. Its anatomical variations in relation to adjacent musculoaponeurotic structures play a crucial role in the development of neuropathies associated with lower abdominal surgeries. In this report, we present a rare case of unusual course and branches of the ilioinguinal nerve, in a 55-year-old male cadaver. In the lateral part of inguinal canal ilioinguinal nerve gave three branches. Two of its branches pierced the external oblique aponeurosis, about 6 cm above the pubic symphysis, to supply the skin of the lower part of the anterior abdominal wall. Another branch pierced the conjoint tendon, in the medial part of the inguinal canal about 2 cm above the superficial inguinal ring. Knowledge of unusual path of these branches may be important to avoid injuries during the surgical repair of groin hernias. Further care should be taken while dealing with the conjoint tendon in the Bassini procedure.