Vessels and nerves of the forearm
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Vessels and Nerves of the Forearm
Transcript
The forearm contains a vast network of vessels and nerves.
Most of these originate in the axilla, and to get to the forearm, most of them pass through the cubital fossa, which is a small, triangular fat-filled pit on the anterior part of the elbow.
The cubital fossa has three borders.
The superior border consists of an imaginary line joining the medial and lateral epicondyles of the humerus; the lateral border is the medial border of the brachioradialis muscle; and the medial border is made up by the lateral border of the pronator teres muscle.
Deep within this region, is the floor of the cubital fossa which is formed by two muscles; the brachialis and supinator.
Superficially, there’s the roof, which is formed by the antebrachial fascia and reinforced by the bicipital aponeurosis coming from the biceps brachii, as well as the overlying subcutaneous tissue and skin.
The cubital fossa contains some important structures.
From medial to lateral, there are the median nerve: the brachial artery which bifurcates into the radial artery laterally, and the ulnar artery medially, the accompanying veins to these deep arteries; the tendon of the biceps brachii muscle; and radial nerve on the most lateral part found between the brachioradialis and brachialis muscles.
Overlying the brachial artery and median nerve is the bicipital aponeurosis, which protects these structures, in situations like when blood is drawn from superficial veins such as the median cubital vein which lies superficial to the bicipital aponeurosis.
So that's the cubital fossa, short and sweet.
Ok, now let’s see some details about the arteries of the forearm.
The main arteries are the ulnar and radial artery, which are the terminal branches of the brachial artery arising in the cubital fossa.
Summary
The forearm is part of the upper limb between the elbow and the wrist. It contains arteries, veins, and nerves that supply the muscles, bones, and skin of the forearm and hand.
The main arteries of the forearm are the ulnar and the radial arteries, which arise from the bifurcation of the brachial artery. The ulnar artery gives off three major branches immediately distal to the elbow: the anterior ulnar recurrent artery, the posterior ulnar recurrent artery, and the common interosseous artery. In the wrist region, the ulnar artery gives the other two branches, which are the palmar and dorsal carpal branches. Immediately distal to the elbow, the radial artery gives off its first branch called the radial recurrent artery, and then gives the other two branches in the wrist region: the dorsal and palmar carpal branches which anastomose with those of the ulnar artery.
The forearm has superficial and deep veins. The superficial veins are those which can be found in the superficial fascia and are easily accessible. These are the cephalic vein, the basilic vein, and the median cubital vein which connect the cephalic and basilic veins in the area of the cubital fossa. The deep veins are located deep in the muscles, and they commonly accompany major arteries as the venae comitantes �, which is Latin for accompanying veins �. Finally, three important nerves are running in the forearm: the median nerve, the ulnar nerve, and the radial nerve.
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