In human anatomy, the radial artery is the main artery of the lateral aspect of
the forearm. Course
The radial artery arises from the bifurcation of the brachial artery in
the cubital fossa. It runs distally on the anterior part of the forearm. There,
it serves as a landmark for the division between the anterior and posterior
compartments of the forearm, with the posterior compartment beginning just
lateral to the artery. The artery winds laterally around the wrist, passing
through the anatomical snuff box and between the heads of the first dorsal
interosseous muscle. It passes anteriorly between the heads of the
adductor pollicis, and becomes the deep palmar arch, which joins with the deep
branch of the ulnar artery. Along its course, it is accompanied by a
similarly named vein, the radial vein. Branches
The named branches of the radial artery may be divided into three groups,
corresponding with the three regions in which the vessel is situated.
= In the Forearm= Radial recurrent artery - arises just
after the radial artery comes off the brachial artery. It travels superiorly
to anastomose with the radial collateral artery around the elbow joint
Palmar carpal branch of radial artery - a small vessel which arises near the
lower border of the pronator quadratus Superficial palmar branch of the radial
artery - arises from the radial artery, just where this vessel is about to wind
around the lateral side of the wrist. = At the Wrist=
Dorsal carpal branch of radial artery - a small vessel which arises beneath the
extensor tendons of the thumb First dorsal metacarpal artery - arises
just before the radial artery passes between the two heads of the first
dorsal interosseous muscle and divides almost immediately into two branches
which supply the adjacent sides of the thumb and index finger; the lateral side
of the thumb receives a branch directly from the radial artery.
= In the Hand= Princeps pollicis artery - arises from
the radial artery just as it turns medially to the deep part of the hand.
Radialis indicis - arises close to the princeps pollicis. The two arteries may
arise from a common trunk, the first palmar metacarpal artery.
Deep palmar arch - terminal part of radial artery.
Clinical significance The radial artery lies superficially in
front of the distal end of the radius, between the tendons of the
brachioradialis and flexor carpi radialis; it is here that clinician
takes the radial pulse.. Presence of radial pulse was thought to indicate a
systolic blood pressure of at least 70 mmHg, as estimated from the 50%
percentile, although this was found to generally be an overestimation of a
patient's true blood pressure. The radial artery can be less easily felt as
it crosses the anatomical snuff box. The radial artery is used for coronary
artery bypass grafting and is growing in popularity among cardiac surgeons.[1]
Recently, it has been shown to have a superior peri-operative and
post-operative course when compared to saphenous vein grafts.[2]
See also Allen test
Radial artery puncture Radial artery cannulation is now a
common practice in heart catheter. It is much preferred over femoral approach due
to better accessibility, hemostasis and shorter hospital stay.
Additional images References
This article incorporates text in the public domain from the 20th edition of
Gray's Anatomy ^ Deakin CD, Low JL. "Accuracy of the
advanced trauma life support guidelines for predicting systolic blood pressure
using carotid, femoral, and radial pulses: observational study". BMJ 321:
673–4. doi:10.1136/bmj.321.7262.673. PMC 27481. PMID 10987771.
^ Sajja LR, Mannam G, Pantula NR, Sompalli S. Role of radial artery graft
in coronary artery bypass grafting. Ann Thorac Surg. 2005 Jun;79(6):2180-8. PMID
15919345 ^ Cohen G, Tamariz MG, Sever JY,
Liaghati N, Guru V, Christakis GT, Bhatnagar G, Cutrara C, Abouzahr L,
Goldman BS, Fremes SE. The radial artery versus the saphenous vein graft in
contemporary CABG: a case-matched study. Ann Thorac Surg. 2001 Jan;71(1):180-5;
discussion 185-6. PMID 11216742 External links
Image at umich.edu - pulse Radial artery puncture -
medicalstudents.com lesson4artofforearm at The Anatomy
Lesson by Wesley Norman