The brachial artery
Brachial artery · arteria brachialis
The main artery of the upper arm, used to measure your blood pressure.
What it does
The brachial artery runs down the inner side of the upper arm beside the median nerve. At the elbow crease it lies just inside the biceps tendon, and below the elbow it splits into the radial and ulnar arteries.
Surprising fact
A blood pressure cuff squeezes this artery, and the tapping sounds heard through the stethoscope at the elbow are the blood jetting through as the cuff loosens.
Why it matters
That is why blood pressure is measured with the cuff around your upper arm at heart level.
Nearby
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Sources
Drafted with AI help; awaiting a human fact-check against these sources.
Open in the 3D atlas · Suggest a correction · Not medical advice.
3D models: Z-Anatomy & BodyParts3D (CC BY-SA 4.0 / 2.1 JP). Card text CC BY 4.0.