An anatomical study on the forearm vascular system.

The purpose of the present study was to establish the clinicoanatomical basis for the radial forearm flap. We conducted a morphometric investigation on 52 Japanese cadavers, of forearm vessels, for use in free forearm flaps. The mean inner diameter of the cephalic and median cubital veins at the interepicondylar line was 1.9 +/- 1.2 mm and 1.8 +/- 1.1 mm, respectively. Mean inner diameter of the radial artery and venae comitantes 1 cm distal to the origins of the radial and ulnar arteries was 2.3 +/- 0.5 mm and 1.6 +/- 0.5 mm, respectively. The longest segment of a superficial vein was 28.7 +/- 4.6 cm, it was measured between the basilic vein 5 cm proximal to the interepicondylar line and the cephalic vein at Lister's tubercle. The length of the radial artery was 18.1 +/- 1.7 cm. There were fewer valves in the basilic vein and cephalic vein proximal to the median cubital vein and in the brachial veins than in the distal antebrachial veins. From these results some of the clinicoanatomical considerations of forearm vessels which will form the clinicoanatomical basis of the free forearm flap should be clarified.