FETAL ANATOMICAL VARIABILITY OF THE ULNAR AND RADIAL ARTERY SYSTEM

Variability in the topography of the arteries of the upper extremity is associated with fetal development. Determination of individual anatomical variants of the upper extremity blood supply at diff erent stages of ontogeny, especially in human fetuses, is of great practical importance in vascular surgery.Aim of the study. To study the individual anatomical variability of the ulnar and radial arteries in human fetuses of diff erent ages. Material and methods. The study of variants of the topography of the branches of the radial and ulnar arteries, the peculiarities of the formation of the superfi cial palmar arterial arch was carried out on 46 preparations of the upper extremities of 23 human fetuses 81. 0-375, 0 mm parieto- coccygeal length using macromicroscopic dissection, vascular injection and morphometry without external signs of anatomical abnormalities or congenital malformations of skeletal, fascial- muscular and vascular- nerve structures of the upper extremities.Results and discussion. Our study demonstrated fetal anatomical variability and bilateral asymmetry of the right and left upper extremity arteries in human fetuses. Thus, in a fetus with a PCL of 210.0 mm, the right brachiocephalic artery was found to originate from the right axillary artery. It should be noted that the initial portion of the right brachiocephalic artery passed anteriorly, not posteriorly, to the median nerve, and at the level of the middle third of the anterior shoulder region, the artery occupied a superfi cial position relative to the median nerve, which is located in the lateral bicuspid groove of the shoulder. The brachiocephalic artery was then directed in an oblique lateral direction to the lateral surface of the forearm. In this fetus, a high origin of the right ulnar artery was found, which originated from the trunk of the brachiocephalic artery in the upper third of the right anterior shoulder region. At the border of the middle and lower thirds of the anterior shoulder region, the ulnar artery crossed the ulnar nerve anteriorly and passed with it in the median biceps groove of the shoulder. 3.0 mm below the beginning of the ulnar artery, the superior circumfl ex ulnar artery bifurcated from the brachiocephalic artery, and in the lower third of the anterior shoulder region, a common trunk bifurcated from the brachiocephalic artery and bifurcated into the middle and inferior circumfl ex ulnar arteries. We found arterial anastomoses between the latter and branche