THE DEEP VEINS OF THE UPPER EXTREMITY 



663 



VENAE COMITES 

 OF BRACHIAL 

 ARTERY 





The Deep Veins of the Upper Extremity. 



The deep veins follow the course of the arteries, forming their venae comitantes. 

 They are generally arranged in pairs, and are situated one on either side of the 

 corresponding artery, and connected at intervals by short transverse branches. 



Deep Veins of the Hand. The superficial and deep volar arterial arches are 

 each accompanied by a pair of vense comitantes which constitute respectively 

 the superficial and deep volar venous arches, and receive the veins corresponding 

 to the branches of the arterial arches; thus the common volar digital veins, formed by 

 the union of the proper volar digital veins, open into the superficial, and the volar 

 metacarpal veins into the deep volar venous arches. The dorsal metacarpal veins 

 receive perforating branches 

 from the volar metacarpal 

 veins and end in the radial 

 veins and in the superficial 

 veins on the dorsum of the 

 wrist. 



The deep veins of the fore- 

 arm are the vense comitantes 

 of the radial and ulnar veins 

 and constitute respectively the 

 upward continuations of the 

 deep and superficial volar 

 venous arches; they unite in 

 front of the elbow to form 

 the brachial veins. The radial 

 veins are smaller than the ulnar 

 and receive the dorsal meta- 

 carpal veins. The ulnar veins 

 receive tributaries from the 

 deep volar venous arches and 

 communicate with the super- 

 ficial veins at the wrist; near 

 the elbow they receive the volar 

 and dorsal interosseous veins 

 and send a large communicat- 

 ing branch (profunda vein) to 

 the vena mediana cubiti. 



The brachial veins (vv. 

 brachiales) are placed one on 

 either side of the brachial 

 artery, receiving tributaries 

 corresponding with the branches given off from that vessel; near the lower margin 

 of the Subscapularis, they join the axillary vein; the medial one frequently joins 

 the basilic vein. 



These deep veins have numerous anastomoses, not only with each other, but 

 also with the superficial veins. 



The axillary vein (v. axillaris) begins at the lower border of the Teres major, 

 as the continuation of the basilic vein, increases in size as it ascends, and ends at the 

 outer border of the first rib as the subclavian vein. Near the lower border of 

 the Subscapularis it receives the brachial veins and, close to its termination, the 

 cephalic vein; its other tributaries correspond with the branches of the axillary 

 artery. It lies on the medial side of the artery, which it partly overlaps; between 

 the two vessels are the medial cord of the brachial plexus, the median, the ulnar, 



5NTEROSSEOUS 

 VEINS 



ULNAR DEEP 

 VEINS 



ANASTOMOSIS 



OF RADIAL 



\ AND ULNAR 



RADIAL DEEP 

 VEINS 



FIG. 575. The deep veins of the upper extremity. (Bourgery.) 



