OLAVE, E., BRAGA, M.T. T., GABRIELLI, C. et al.
Abstract : The arteries of the upper limb are variables principally due to modifications ocurred during the embryological development. The bifurcation of the braquial artery in their terminal branches, the ulnar and radial arteries, occurs at the elbow level but sometimes, it can be higher. In order to determine the level of bifurcation of this artery and their relationship with the median nerve, we made a morphometric study of these parameters in 72 upper limbs of 36 formolized adult Brazilian cadavers from both sexes. The limbs were dissected and the morphometric data recorded with a digital caliper. We considered the biepicondylar line (BEL) as a reference point. In the 87,5%of the cases, the braquial artery splits distal to this line and in 11,1%was proximal to it. When this bifurcation was distal, the average distance was 38.4 mm in the male and 30.0 mm in the female. The applied regression test to confirm a possible relation between this level of bifurcation and the forearm length was not significative. When the bifurcation was distal to the BEL, the median nerve crossed ventral to the braquial artery in 54,9% of the cases and dorsal to it in 23,5% of them. The crossing point corresponded to 64,6 mm proximal to the BEL
Keywords: Anatomy; Braquial artery; Median nerve
Rev. chil. anat., 1997, vol.15, no.1, p.99-105. (Full text available in Spanish).
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