Bra strap incision is a neat little incision, easily hidden under clothes and if necessary easily cosmetised for strapless gowns. Once the initial incision has been made, the vessels can be easily located between nerves and tendons and the injection and drainage process is exactly the same. The axillary artery is just picked up at its topmost end.
My colleague and I are fortunate to have a student embalmer training with us for one day a week. This week was his first week and as he has already completed the theoretical training of his British Institute of Embalmers Diploma he is keen to get his practical examinations too.
He has had a little practical experience already so I asked him to choose his vessel to raise and he chose the right common carotid artery. He showed me where he was to make his incision and as it was correct I instructed him to proceed. A neat opening was created and he set to work dissecting tissue and raising the artery.
Imagine my surprise when he pulled up the artery and it had three other small arteries running off it. This was not the common carotid artery but most likely the subclavian artery which should have been more to the right of the clavicle. We attempted to inject the formaldehyde solution but it wasn't working as well as we hoped so I ligated it off and sought the common carotid. There it was! Just a little more medial than expected. The injection and drainage process was completed and the deceased looked super. No different for the experience.
Trust a student to keep my brain active and keep me on my toes!
Photos with thanks from Anatomist 90 via Wiki
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