228 SURGICAL APPLIED ANATOMY. [Chap. xiV; 



can be readily examined. The upper half of the radius 

 is too deeply placed to be well made out, but the 1 

 lower half of the bone can be easily felt beneath the 

 skin. The course of the radial artery is represented 

 by a line drawn from the outer border of the biceps 

 tendon at the bend of the elbow to the narrow 

 interval between the scaphoid bone and the extensor 

 tendons of the thumb. The middle and lower thirds 

 of the ulnar artery follow a line from the inner con- 

 dyle to the radial side of the pisiform bone. The 

 upper third would be represented by a line drawn from 

 the middle of the bend of the elbow to meet the first 

 line at the junction of the upper and middle thirds of 

 the inner border of the fore-arm. Such a line would 

 be slightly curved, with its concavity outwards. The 

 tendons, etc., that can be demonstrated at the lower 

 extremity of the fore-arm will be considered in the 

 description of the wrist. 



Vessels. It is well to note the very free anasto^ 

 moses that exist along the greater part of the limb 

 between the ulnar and radial arteries. This fact was 

 illustrated by a case under my care, some time ago, in 

 the London Hospital. A seaman had inflicted upon 

 his left fore-arm three deep transverse wounds across 

 the front of the limb with a sharp knife. The wounds 

 were about \\ inches apart. The radial artery was 

 divided in each of the wounds, and that vessel, there- 

 fore, presented six cut ends. It would appear to be 

 sufficient to ligature the proximal and distal ends of 

 the wounded vessel, and to leave the two isolated 

 portions of the artery, each about 1| inches in length, 

 alone. I applied ligatures to five of the divided ends, 

 leaving the lower end of the upper isolated piece of 

 the artery untied, and watched the effect. During the 

 course of the day, when the man had rallied from the 

 profound faintness due to the great loss of blood he 

 had experienced, copious bleeding took place from this 



