The arterial supply of thumb is of clinical relevance mainly in plastic surgery.Although the term princeps pollicis artery (arteria princeps pollicis) is a long-time used term and mentioned in BNA 1895, TA 1998 (A12.2.09.036) and in the Hand Terminology for Hand Surgery, it is not one morphological structure.The term princeps pollicis artery describes a thick short artery, a terminal branch from the radial artery, supplying majority of the thumb.But this theoretical definition does not match the reality in majority of cases.