Images Dated 4th September 1996

Coloured illustration of blood vessels of arm

Blood supply to arm. Computer-enhanced historical illustration of the blood supply to the right arm. The top part of a human skeleton is seen with the right arm raised over the skull. At centre the skull is seen with blood vessels (coloured blue and green) supplying the cranium. Below this the spinal vertebrae lead down with the shoulder joint at lower right. The arteries supplying the arms start with the axillary artery at the shoulder. This leads to the brachial artery which supplies the upper arm. This branches into the ulnar and radial arteries at the elbow joint which both supply the lower arm and hands. Drawing by the Italian anatomist Paolo Mascagni (1755- 1815)

© MEHAU KULYK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY