Vascular dominance in the forearm.
The dominance of the radial or ulnar artery at the forearm level and their contributions to the circulation of the hand remain a matter of contention. Therefore, the authors proposed to investigate the predominance of one of these arteries first by anatomic studies on 40 fresh cadaver upper extremities, and then by dynamic studies. The dynamic studies included color Doppler sonography in 22 individuals (44 hands) and five-channel plethysmography in 40 individuals (40 right hands). It was found that the ulnar artery is dominant at the elbow, but after originating its collateral branches, the radial artery becomes the dominant artery in the distal forearm and, consequently, constitutes the major source of vascularization to the hand. The ulnar artery is rarely dominant at the forearm level and is physiologically less important. Therefore, there is no hemodynamic reason to prefer the radial artery to the ulnar artery for any invasive maneuvers.
Haerle
Max
M
Department of Hand and Plastic Surgery, Burn Centre, University of Tübingen, Germany. maxhaerle@t-online.de
Häfner
Hans-Martin
HM
Dietz
Klaus
K
Schaller
Hans-Eberhard
HE
Brunelli
Francesco
F
D005542:Forearm / Q000098:blood supply*; D006225:Hand / Q000098:blood supply; D006801:Humans; D017156:Photoplethysmography; D017534:Radial Artery / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D012039:Regional Blood Flow; D017535:Ulnar Artery / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D018615:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color