Article: AN ANATOMICAL AND CLINICAL CORRELATION OF LATERAL THORACIC ARTERY WITH APALAPA MARMA: A REVIEW

Article Category: Review articles

DOI: 10.7897/2277-4343.166227

Pages: 137-139

Author: Devyani Gawale *, Kishorkumar Madavi

Abstract: Ayurveda has wide range of ideas on human body Rachana Sharir (anatomy) one of the important subjects among it. Rachana Sharir has very ancient origin and it look thousands of years to emerge in its present state. In Ayurvedic texts the human anatomy i.e. Rachana Sharir has been specially classified under sharirsthana of various samhitas due to this the part of the text completely committed about formation of human frame. The concept of marma is one of the important parts of Rachana Sharir. In Ayurvedic literature, Marma points are vital anatomical sites where muscles (mamsa), vessels (sira), ligaments (snayu), bones (asthi), and joints (sandhi) meet, and are considered the seats of life energy (prana). Apalapa Marma, located in the axillary region, is a significant marma described by Acharya Sushruta. Injury to this marma leads to loss of arm movements and even life-threatening conditions due to vascular and neurological involvement. In modern anatomical terms, this region corresponds closely with the course of the lateral thoracic artery, a branch of the second part of the axillary artery, supplying the lateral thoracic wall, serratus anterior, and pectoral region. The Apalapa Marma region anatomically corresponds to the lateral wall of the axilla where the lateral thoracic artery runs along with the long thoracic artery over the serratus anterior muscle. Injury to this region in cadaveric study revealed significant bleeding and potential nerve involvement leading to paralysis of the serratus anterior (winging of scapula), matching the viddha lakshana (clinical symptoms) mentioned for Apalapa Marma in Ayurvedic texts. This establishes a strong anatomical and clinical correlation between Apalapa Marma and the lateral thoracic artery. Understanding the correlation between Apalapa Marma and the lateral thoracic artery is essential for both marma chikitsa (therapeutic) and surgical approaches in the axillary region.

Keyword: Sushrut Samhita, Rachana Sharir, Sharirstan, Aplapa Marma, Lateral thoracic artery.