Morphology of brachial plexus and axillary artery in bonobo (Pan paniscus).

A left brachial plexus and axillary artery of bonobo (Pan paniscus) were examined, and the interrelation between the brachial plexus and the axillary artery was discussed. This is the first report of the brachial plexus and the axillary artery of bonobo. The bonobo brachial plexus formed very similar pattern to that of other ape species and human. On the other hand, the branches of the bonobo axillary artery had uncommon architecture in comparison with human case. The axillary artery did not penetrate the brachial plexus and passes through all way along anterior to the brachial plexus. Only 4.9% of human forelimbs have this pattern. Moreover, the brachial artery runs through superficially anterior to branches of the brachial plexus.