Axillary lines

{{Short description|Imaginary line for orientation on the lateral aspect of the thorax and abdomen}}

{{Infobox anatomy

| Name = Axillary lines

| Latin = lineae axillares

| Greek =

| Image = Brantigan 1963 1-53.png

| Caption = The right side of the thorax with lines labeled

| Width = 200

| Precursor =

| System =

| Artery =

| Vein =

| Nerve =

| Lymph =

}}

The axillary lines are the anterior axillary line, midaxillary line and the posterior axillary line.

The anterior axillary line {{cite book|author1=Logan, Carolynn M.|author2=Rice, M. Katherine|title=Logan's Medical and Scientific Abbreviations|date=1987|publisher=J. B. Lippincott Company|location=Philadelphia|isbn=0-397-54589-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/logansmedicalsci00loga/page/3 3]|ref=logansaabrev|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/logansmedicalsci00loga/page/3}}

is a coronal line on the anterior torso marked by the anterior axillary fold. It's the imaginary line that runs down from the point midway between the middle of the clavicle and the lateral end of the clavicle.

The V₅ ECG lead is placed on the left anterior axillary line, horizontally even with V₄.{{Cite journal |last1=Drew |first1=Barbara J. |last2=Califf |first2=Robert M. |last3=Funk |first3=Marjorie |last4=Kaufman |first4=Elizabeth S. |last5=Krucoff |first5=Mitchell W. |last6=Laks |first6=Michael M. |last7=Macfarlane |first7=Peter W. |last8=Sommargren |first8=Claire |last9=Swiryn |first9=Steven |last10=Van Hare |first10=George F. |date=2004-10-26 |title=Practice Standards for Electrocardiographic Monitoring in Hospital Settings: An American Heart Association Scientific Statement From the Councils on Cardiovascular Nursing, Clinical Cardiology, and Cardiovascular Disease in the Young: Endorsed by the International Society of Computerized Electrocardiology and the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses |url=https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/01.CIR.0000145144.56673.59 |journal=Circulation |language=en |volume=110 |issue=17 |pages=2721–2746 |doi=10.1161/01.CIR.0000145144.56673.59 |pmid=15505110 |issn=0009-7322}}

The midaxillary line is a coronal line on the torso between the anterior and posterior axillary lines.

It is a landmark used in thoracentesis,{{cite book|author=Richard W. Light|title=Pleural diseases|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vHEpRHQXaKUC&pg=PA376|accessdate=4 November 2010|date=1 April 2007|publisher=Lippincott Williams & Wilkins|isbn=978-0-7817-6957-0|pages=376–}} and the V6 electrode of the 10 electrode ECG.

The posterior axillary line is a coronal line on the posterior torso marked by the posterior axillary fold.