Pattern of variations in superficial palmar arch in 134 Negro cadaveric hands

Objective: To investigate the incidence of anatomical variations of superficial palmar arch in Negro population. Materials and method: A total of 134 upper limbs comprising 74 right and 60 left specimens embalmed with formaldehyde were used for the investigation. The hand was dissected with palmar aponeurosis identified and removed to expose the ulnar and radial arteries. Results: A complete superficial arch was observed in 73.9 % specimens. In 70.1 % cases the superficial branch of the ulnar artery communicated with its radial arterial counterpart. In 3.0 % cases the arch was formed entirely by the ulnar artery while in a single case (0.8 %), a rare pattern was observed in which the superficial palmar branch of the ulnar artery gave rise to the princeps pollicis artery as its terminal branch with the exclusion of radialis indicis that had its origin from deep palmar branch of radial artery. The incomplete arch constituted 26.1 % of the entire palmar arch formation. Conclusion: In our Negro population study, deviation from normal anatomical pattern was common. Therefore, a review of vascular pattern prior to invasive or intervention surgery is strongly recommended to be able to detect anomalies likely to necessitate modification of surgical procedures