Variation of Superficial Palmar Arch a Case Report

Abstract

Keywords: Radial artery, Superficial palmar arch, Ulnar artery I.Introduction The anastomoses between radial and ulnar arteries in the palm play a significant role in diseases of the palm through collateral circulation. During routine dissection of the MBBS students we have seen that the hand of a75 year-old male cadaver, showed variation in the completion of the superficial palmar arch (SPA) formed exclusively by the superficial branch of the ulnar artery. [The superficial arteries of the hand formed several diversified patterns that permitted into well-defined categories. About two-third of the SPA is formed by the ulnar artery alone; a further third is completed by the superficial palmar branch of the radial artery and a third either by the arteria radialis indicis or by the princeps pollicis or by the median artery. A classic type of SPA in which the superficial branch of the radial artery joins the superficial branch of the ulnar artery is found only in 34.5% of the cases. There are many reports regarding formation of SPA. In a study by Coleman et al., the complete arch was found in 78.5% of the cases and incomplete arch in the remaining 21.5%, and this formed a major underlying factor in the aetiology of digital ischaemia. Ikeda et al. conducted stereoscopic arteriography of 220 cadaver hands and reported complete SPA in 96.4% of the cases, and only 3.6% had an incomplete arch. Gellman et al. showed a complete SPA in 84.4% and Al Turk and Metcalf reported complete SPA in 84% of the cases.