Radial Veins

Origin

The radial veins form a continuation of the lateral aspect of the deep palmar arch.

Course

The radial veins are venae comitantes of the radial artery and follow the arterial course along the lateral aspect of the forearm. The radial and ulnar veins unite near the elbow and continue as the brachial veins. The radial veins are smaller than the ulnar veins (Standring, 2016).

Tributaries

There are two sets of venae comitantes in the forearm, the radial and ulnar veins, which receive the superficial and deep palmar venous arches. The deep palmar arch mainly drains into the radial veins. The bulk of the palmar superficial venous blood is shunted to the dorsal aspect of the hand; however, the remainder of blood in the superficial palmar arch primarily drains into the ulnar vein (Doyle and Botte, 2003).

At the wrist, superficial veins connect with the radial and ulnar veins. Along the forearm, the radial and ulnar veins receive tributaries from the anterior and posterior interosseous veins as well as muscular branches (Standring, 2016, Moore et al., 2013)

Structures Drained

The radial vein and its tributaries drain the lateral aspect of the anterior forearm and the palmar and dorsal aspects of the hand.

References

Doyle, J. R. and Botte, M. J. (2003) Surgical Anatomy of the Hand and Upper Extremity. LWW medical book collection: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Moore, K. L., Dalley, A. F. and Agur, A. M. R. (2013) Clinically Oriented Anatomy. Clinically Oriented Anatomy 7th edn.: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Standring, S. (2016) Gray's Anatomy: The Anatomical Basis of Clinical Practice. Gray's Anatomy Series 41 edn.: Elsevier Limited.