Occurrence of Three Headed Sternocleidomastoid Muscle and a Common Thyro-Linguo-Facial Vein – A Case Report

Variant anatomy of muscles and veins of the neck is of importance to plastic surgeons, radiologists and general surgeons. We report the variations of sternocleidomastoid muscle and veins of the neck in the present article. Right sternocleidomastoid muscle had three heads of origin. The third head took its origin from the clavicle just lateral to the usual clavicular head. All the three heads were about 4 inches long and united with each other at the level of thyroid cartilage. There was no external jugular vein on the right side. The retromandibular vein united with facial vein to form common facial vein. Common facial vein joined with superior thyroid and lingual veins to form a thyrolinguo-facial trunk one inch below the angle of mandible. This trunk was about 2 inches long and terminated into the internal jugular vein. Knowledge of this case could be useful while raising a sternocleidomastoid flap, administering anesthesia to brachial plexus, neck surgeries and carotid endarterectomy.

Unusual Branching Pattern of Axillary and Brachial Arteries in the Right Upper Limb – A Case Report

Variations of the vascular pattern of proximal part of the upper arm are very common. Knowledge of anomalies in the origin and course of principal arteries is important for the vascular radiologists and surgeons. Several variations of the axillary artery, brachial artery and theirs branches have been reported. We found a common trunk (about 3cm long) of lateral thoracic and subscapular arteries from the axillary artery and a common trunk (about 4cm long) of posterior circumflex humeral and profunda brachii arteries from brachial artery. The profunda brachii artery ran downwards along with radial nerve and entered the radial groove. The posterior circumflex humeral artery hooked around the aponeurosis of latissimus dorsi muscle and supplied its usual area around the glenohumeral joint.