Superficial veins of upper extremities in Thais.

ABSTRACT

From 272 dissected adult Thai cadavers the patterns of superficial veins in the cubital region were recorded. The presence of the median cubital vein connecting the cephalic with the basilica vein was founded in 76.7 percent. With the cephalic vein turning medially to join the basilica vein a little above the elbow joint, the brachial portion of the cephalic vein was either rudimentary, absent or taken up by an accessory cephalic vein in 6.6 percent. The cephalic and basilic veins had no communication with each other in the elbow region in 13.4 percent. In the absence of the median cubital vein, the upper end of the median vein of the forearm divided into a median cephalic vein and a median basilica vein to join respectively the cephalic and basilic veins in 3.3 percent. The distribution of the various types was not statistically different from that in the Japanese, American Negroes and America Whites, but significantly different from that in the British and Indian.