DISTRIBUTION OF THE COMMON PALMAR DIGITAL ARTERY-II TO THE DIGITAL FLEXOR MUSCLES OF THE HORSE

The distal forelimb of the horse was dissected to study the arterial b lood supply Lo the tendons of the digital flexor muscles. The purpose of the study was to know, in detail, the vascularization of the common palmar digital artery II (CPDA II) and to envisage its clinical corre lation with the metacarpal region of the horse. Eighty two distal segm ents from 59 right and 23 left forelimbs were collected from an equine slaughterhouse in Rio Cuarto (Cordoba, Argentina). Each piece was inj ected with coloured latex through the CPDA II and dissected macroscopi cally. It was established that the main branching of the CPDA II occur red in the mid third of the metacarpus. The number of arterial branche s was significantly greater than in the proximal third, and this numbe r was also higher than in the distal third. It was concluded that the blood supply to the tendons of the digital flexor muscles was greatest in the mid third of the metacarpus. Thus, a possible relationship bet ween the areas with poor vascularization and the sites of the more fre quent disease of the flexor tendons might be established.