Anjana Jayakumaran Nair1, Vijayamma Kunnath Narayanan2, Ushavathy Padmanabhan3, Margret William4
BACKGROUND
High origin and superficially placed ulnar artery is a rare anatomical variant that usually arises either in the axilla or arm and runs a superficial course in the forearm, enters the hand and participates in the formation of superficial palmar arch. During routine dissection of cadavers in our department, we observed a unilateral case of high origin and superficial ulnar artery in a human male cadaver. It originated from the brachial artery in the lower third of arm 4 cm above its bifurcation. From its origin, it passed downwards along the medial aspect of forearm, superficial to the flexors, entered hand superficial to the flexor retinaculum and formed superficial palmar arch. The knowledge of existence of a superficial ulnar artery is important during vascular and reconstructive surgery and also in evaluation of angiographic images. Superficial position makes it more vulnerable to trauma and more accessible to cannulation.
KEYWORDS
Ulnar Artery, Brachial Artery, Superficial Palmar Arch, Superficial Ulnar Artery
