Anat Cell Biol.  2019 Sep;52(3):333-336. 10.5115/acb.19.008.

Superficial brachioulnar artery and its clinical significance

• Sieger J
• Patel L
• Sheikh K
• Parker E
• Sheng M
• Sakthi-Velavan S

• KMID: 2459549
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5115/acb.19.008

Abstract

The authors report a rare variation of the vasculature in the upper limbs of an 84-year-old male cadaver. A high bifurcation of the brachial artery occurred bilaterally at the proximal one-third of each arm. The radial arteries were larger than the ulnar arteries and gave origin to the common interosseous arteries. At the cubital fossa, the ulnar arteries traversed medial to the median nerves, continuing superficial to all forearm muscles except the palmaris longus tendon, characteristic of superficial brachioulnar arteries. The aforementioned variations have rarely been reported in previous literature and demonstrate important clinical significance in relation to accidental intra-arterial injections, errors in blood pressure readings, as well as orthopedic, plastic, and vascular surgeries of the upper limbs.

Keyword

Superficial brachioulnar artery; Brachial artery; Ulnar artery; Radial artery; High bifurcation

MeSH Terms

Aged, 80 and over
Arm
Arteries*
Blood Pressure
Brachial Artery
Cadaver
Forearm
Humans
Injections, Intra-Arterial
Male
Median Nerve
Muscles
Orthopedics
Plastics
Radial Artery
Reading
Tendons
Ulnar Artery
Upper Extremity
Plastics

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Right (A) and left (B) upper limbs. 1, brachial artery; 2. brachioradial artery; 3, superficial brachioulnar artery; 4, common interosseous artery; 5, superficial palmar arch; 6, median nerve; 7, ulnar nerve; 8, musculocutaneous nerve; 9, coracobrachialis; 10, biceps brachii; 11, triceps brachii; 12, brachioradialis; 13, pronator teres (cut); 14, flexor carpi radialis; 15, palmaris longus; 16, flexor carpi ulnaris; 17, flexor digitorum superficialis; 18, flexor pollicis longus; 19, anterior interosseous artery.

• 

  Fig. 2 Normal embryogenesis and proposed embryogenesis of donor. AA, axis artery; UA, ulnar artery; SBUA, superficial brachioulnar artery; SBA, superficial brachial artery; BA, brachial artery; IA, interosseous artery; RA, radial artery; BRA, brachioradial artery. Arrow indicates anastomotic BRA.

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