Chap, xiii.] REGION OF ELBOW. 237 



also in young children. In it the head of the radius 

 can be felt, and can be well distinguished when the 

 bone is rotated in pronation and supination. The pit 

 corresponds to the hollow between the outer border 

 of the anconeus and the muscular eminence formed 

 by the two radial extensors of the carpus and the 

 supinator longus. The highest point of the bone that 

 can be felt moving on rotation will correspond to the 

 radius immediately below the line of the elbow joint, 

 and is a valuable guide to that articulation. The 

 upper limit of the elbow joint reaches a line drawn 

 between the points of the two condyles. The tubercle 

 of the radius can be felt just below the head of the 

 bone when the limb is in the position of extreme 

 pronation. 



The region of the elbow. The skin in front 

 of the elbow is thin and fine, and is readily excoriated 

 by tight bandaging and by improperly applied splints. 

 The thinness of the skin allows the subjacent veins to 

 be easily seen through the integuments, but the 

 distinctness with which these veins appear depends 

 mainly upon the amount of subcutaneous fat. In 

 the very stout they may be quite invisible, and it 

 may be difficult or impossible to render them evident 

 by the usual means adopted in venesection. Tillaux 

 points out that if such people are bled a pellet of fat 

 will often project into the wound and prevent the 

 flow of blood. 



The arrangement of the superficial veins in 

 front of the elbow, so as to form an M-shaped figure, 

 is familiar, but it must be confessed that it is by no 

 means constant (Fig. 23). So far as I have seen, 

 it would appear that the precise M-like arrangement 

 figured in most books is only present in about two- 

 thirds, and perhaps in only one-half, of all cases. 



The median vein breaks up into the median 

 cephalic and median basilic, just to the outer sido 



