Unusual variability of the superficial venous system of the upper limb and its consequences for deep venous system

Abstract

This article has been peer reviewed and published immediately upon acceptance.It is an open access article, which means that it can be downloaded, printed, and distributed freely, provided the work is properly cited. Articles in "Folia Morphologica" are listed in PubMed.

A rare variations of the cephalic vein drainage: two cases report

“…Cephalic vein is also used for creating arteriovenous fistulas in patients who require hemodialysis [26]. The fistula is most typically created on nondominant upper limb.…”

“…Superficial veins, located in the subcutaneous tissue, play significant role in carrying blood to the heart, especially from the upper and lower extremities. One of the main superficial veins of the upper limb is the cephalic vein (CV), a relatively large vessel used for numerous invasive procedures, due to its consistent anatomy and lower risk of postoperative complications in comparison to venous punctures via subclavian or axillary veins [10,12,15,17,21,25,26].…”

"Fetal Anatomical Variability of the Veins of the Upper Limbs"

“…In clinical practice, when forming a distal arteriovenous fistula between the radial artery and the cephalic vein, as a rule, two variants of vascular anastomoses are used. Taking into account the lower frequency of postoperative complications associated with hemodynamic changes in the basin of the radial artery and the cephalic vein used to create an arteriovenous fistula, with sufficient blood flow through the fistula itself, the optimal anastomosis is «the vein end to the artery side» 20 . Anastomosis «the vein end to the artery end» type provides the lowest speed of blood flow through the arteriovenous fistula and is therefore used when the previous type of anastomosis is impossible and exclusively in distal fistulas 21 .…”