John was sitting in the open window of his house with his le

John was sitting in the open window of his house with his left arm propped on the windowsill when a stray bullet from a drive by shooting hit the medial bicep above the elbow. Due to the angle of the shooter, the trajectory of the bullet, and the position of the arm on the windowsill, the bullet traveled up the arm, through the armpit, under the clavicle, and tore through the major artery leaving the heart.

1. Which blood vessel could the bullet have encountered when it hit the medial bicep?

2. Which blood vessel could the bullet have encountered when it traveled through the armpit

3. Which blood vessel could the bullet have encountered when it traveled under the clavicle

4. Which major artery leaving the heart did the bullet tear through

5. Would this damage be major or minor

If the right arm had been resting on the windowsill instead of the left one, the blood vessel path would be the same up until after the clavicle.

6. Which artery close to the heart could the bullet have torn through in this scenario?

7. If the bullet was a little lower, it would tear through a major vein entering the heart. Name this vein.

8. Explain anatomically, why the bullet would not tear through the same vessels from either side of the body

Solution

Answer:

1. The bullet could have encountered the brachial artery which is the major blood vessel in the upper arm.

2. The bullet could have encountered the axillary artery which is a large blood vessel that conveys oxygenated blood to the lateral aspect of the thorax, the axilla (armpit) and the upper limb.

3.  The bullet could have encountered the subclavian artery. The subclavian arteries are paired major arteries of the upper thorax, below the clavicle. They receive blood from the aortic arch.

4. The bullet probably have torn through the aorta. The aorta is the largest artery in the body. It carries oxygenated blood from the left ventricle of the heart into systemic circulation.