Unilateral doubling of the radial artery in the antebrachium observed in the cadaver

Abstract

The brachial artery branches into radial and ulnar arteries in the cubital fossa. Within the fossa, the radial artery descends distally towards the wrist. At the level of the wrist, the radial lies lateral to the tendon of the flexor carpi radialis and continues laterally to enter the anatomical snuff box prior to passing through the first dosal interosseous muscle. The path of the radial artery in the antebrachium is superficial except for the proximal portion, which is slightly overlapped by the brachioradialis. Proximal branching of the brachial artery into the radial and ulnar arteries at mid brachium are common anomalies. We report a unilateral variation in the radial vasculature observed in a female cadaver. A superficial radial artery branched from the brachial artery at mid brachium. Initially, this was thought to be a proximal bifurcation of the brachial into the radial and ulnar vessels. Further dissection revealed a normal bifurcation of the brachial into the radial and ulnar arteries occurred in the cubital fossa. The radial artery from the bifurcation was unusually small. The superficial radial paralleled the normal radial distally along the antebrachium. The normal radial artery was very small in the wrist and the superficial radial continued to enter the anatomical snuff box. There was no other variation associated with either radial artery beyond this point.