| dc.description.abstract | As the main arterial supply of the upper
limb, the normal documented branching pattern of
brachial artery is by bifurcation of its terminal branches
into radial and ulnar arteries, but due to variations in
studies done, two patterns have been identified i.e.,
bifurcation and trifurcation though there is paucity data
in black African population. The length of brachial
artery also varies in majority of studies done.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the
branching pattern and length of brachial artery as
brachial artery is of clinical importance in majority of
clinical procedures of the upper arm like blood pressure
monitoring and various surgical therapeutic procedures.
Methodology: The study was carried out in Maseno,
Uzima and Masinde muliro universities human anatomy
laboratories where 154 upper limb specimens of 77
cadavers were used. A Cross sectional descriptive study
design with stratified sampling method were adopted in
the study. Data was recorded in data entry form and
later analyzed using SPSS version 26.0.
Results: Out of 154 upper limbs 93.5% had normal
bifurcation into radial and ulnar arteries,4(2.4%)
showed high bifurcation of brachial artery into ulnar
and radial arteries, 6(4.1%) had trifurcation into radial
ulnar and common interosseous arteries. Mean length of
brachial artery was 26. 0cm.There was no statistically
significant difference in variation (p=0.333 and 0.564)
when correlated with the normal branching pattern.
Conclusion: Knowledge regarding the known normal
anatomy and variant arterial anatomy of the upper limb,
has significant importance, it can guide vascular
radiologist, surgeons, and clinicians for accurate
diagnostic interpretation as well as in the conduct of
interventional and surgical procedures of upper limb.
Thus, knowledge on variant anatomy in branching
pattern and length of brachial artery is important for
clinicians when performing invasive and other clinical
procedures to avoid misdiagnosis and surgical related
complications, thus each patient should be treated
uniquely due to such anatomical variations. | en_US |
