A CASE REPORT ON INCOMPLETE ULNAR TYPE OF SUPERFICIAL PALMAR ARCH WITH ITS DEVELOPMENTAL BASIS

During routine dissection for the undergraduate first MBBS students on the right upper limb of a 70 years old donated embalmed male cadaver in the Department of Anatomy, K.J. Somaiya Medical College, Sion, Mumbai, India, we observed an incomplete superficial palmar arch. The superficial palmar arch was formed alone by the ulnar artery on medial side and there was no contribution from the radial artery on the lateral side. The photographs of the incomplete superficial palmar arch were taken for proper documentation and ready reference. There was no associated neuromuscular variations seen in the same specimen. The formation of the deep palmar arch was normal. The arterial pattern of the left upper limb of the same cadaver was normal. Conclusion: The knowledge of variations of vascular pattern of hand gained more importance in microsurgical techniques, reconstructive hand surgeries, preoperative screening of radial artery harvesting for myocardial revascularization and also in arterial interventions that include radial artery cannulation and radial artery forearm flap.