Subscapular artery

{{Use American English|date = January 2019}}

{{Short description|Large blood vessel}}

{{Use mdy dates|date = January 2019}}

{{More footnotes|article|date=June 2015}}

{{Infobox artery

| Name = scapular artery

| Latin = arteria subscapularis

| Image = Axillary_branches.PNG

| Caption = Axillary artery and its branches, including subscapular artery - anterior view of right upper limb and thorax.

| Image2 = Gray521.png

| Caption2 = The scapular and circumflex arteries.

| BranchFrom = Axillary artery

| BranchTo = Circumflex scapular artery, thoracodorsal artery

| Supplies = Latissimus dorsi

}}

The subscapular artery, the largest branch of the axillary artery,{{Cite journal |last=Mills |first=N. L. |last2=Dupin |first2=C. L. |last3=Everson |first3=C. T. |last4=Leger |first4=C. L. |date=January 1993 |title=The subscapular artery: an alternative conduit for coronary bypass |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8422491/ |journal=Journal of Cardiac Surgery |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=66–71 |doi=10.1111/j.1540-8191.1993.tb00576.x |issn=0886-0440 |pmid=8422491|doi-access=free }} arises from the third part of the axillary artery at the lower border of the subscapularis muscle, which it follows to the inferior angle of the scapula, where it anastomoses with the lateral thoracic and intercostal arteries, and with the descending branch of the dorsal scapular artery (a.k.a. deep branch of the transverse cervical artery if it arises from the cervical trunk), and ends in the neighboring muscles.

About 4 cm from its origin it gives off two branches, first the scapular circumflex artery and then the thoracodorsal artery.

From the thoracodorsal artery, it supplies latissimus dorsi, while the scapular circumflex artery participates in the scapular anastamosis. It terminates in an anastomosis with the dorsal scapular artery.{{Cite book|title=Clinically Oriented Anatomy Seventh Edition|last=Moore|first=Keith|publisher=Wolters Kluwer|year=2014|isbn=978-1-4511-1945-9|pages=716–717}}