Superficial brachioulnar artery and its clinical significance

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.