Epiphyseal vascularization during growth: the upper limb.

Sixty fetal, newborn and child cadavers were injected with India ink and plastic material (Batson's technique) via the subclavian artery. The arterial and capillary intracartilaginous and intraosseous networks of the physes of the long bones of the upper limb were then studied by microdissection of the vascular sources and serial epiphyseal sections in different planes. Already present in the third week of fetal life and present all during the rest of life, this circulation plays a fundamental role not only in the ossification of the epiphyseal cartilage but also in the trophicity of the bone that supports the cartilaginous articular surfaces. Like those of the lower limb, the epiphyses of the upper limb present a typical vascular pattern consisting of three entries, with the exception however of the inferior extremity of the ulna.