VARIANT HIGH-ORIGIN RADIAL ARTERY - A BILATERAL CASE

During a dissection of both upper extremities, an abnormally high orig in of the radial a. was found on each side. However, the arterial patt erns were not the same. On the right side, the radial a. arose 2 cm ab ove the junction of the two roots of the median n. On the left side, t he radial a. arose from the brachial a. 3 cm distal to the origin of t he profunda brachii a. The course of these arteries in the forearm wer e normal. However, in the hand, on the right side, the contributions o f the radial and ulnar aa. to the superficial and deep palmar arches w ere, unusually, equal. On the left side, the superficial palmar arch w as formed as usual mainly by the ulnar a. and the deep palmar arch was formed mainly by the radial a. The high origin of the radial aa. in t his case is explained on the basis of the embryologic development and is distinguished from the other common arterial variations in the uppe r limb.