Intramuscular anatomy of the latissimus dorsi muscle.

Two recent articles in the British Journal of Plastic Surgery have served to explain the anatomy of the blood vessels serving the latissimus dorsi muscle. A theory was presented with a supporting case in which the superficial surface of the muscle was thinned acutely during a reconstruction, with full survival. A case complication is presented in which an unusual partial muscle loss in a latissimus dorsi free tissue transfer is explained by this theory.