Vascularity of the shoulder

The main arteries involved in the arterial supply of the shoulder joint and the proximal humerus are the anterior and posterior circumflex humeral arteries which arise from the axillary artery. Their branches are also responsible for providing the intraosseous arterial supply to the humeral head via the arcuate artery from the anterior circumflex humeral artery and the posterolateral and posteromedial vessels from the posterior circumflex humeral artery. These vessels are implicated in the development of avascular necrosis of the humeral head following proximal humeral fractures or dislocations when they are disrupted. For this reason, a sound knowledge of the vascular anatomy of the shoulder is required to better understand the patho-anatomy of these complications and to provide suitable treatments to address these issues in clinical practice.