Anatomoclinical and surgical correlation of the radial artery with the surface branch of the radial nerve

Abstract

The present study aimed to correlate the clinical and surgical anatomy of the radial artery with the superficial branch of the radial nerve, looking for injuries to this nerve in the literature through surgery of the mentioned vessel. Thus, the present study consisted of observational and descriptive research. Eleven upper limbs and a digital caliper were used to measure the distance between the radial artery and the superficial branch of the radial nerve (vasculonervous bundle). Dissections of the anterior, posterior, lateral and medial sides of the arm, forearm, and hand were performed. The 11 cadaverous pieces belong to the Human Anatomy Laboratory of Universidade Brasil. For the development of the study, cadaveric pieces were used as a reference to measure the distance between the radial artery and the superficial branch of the radial nerve and, thus, analyzing in the literature the findings for anatomical and surgical correlation of the vasculonervous bundle. It is concluded that the middle and distal third of the forearm and the wrist are frequent sites of surgical procedures, whether percutaneous or open, where injury to the superficial branch of the radial nerve can occur and, generally, with undesirable and even disastrous results, therefore, the surgeon must be extremely careful in surgical procedures in the studied region, mainly vascular and in those so called percutaneous that expose to SBRN injuries. More work is suggested related to vascular events associated with SBRN injuries. Therefore, one must be aware of the possibility of occurrence, especially when these situations occur anatomical variation or even the lack of anatomical knowledge, which can be a determining factor for nerve damage.