Abstract:
Superficial veins in the cubital fossa are a common site for obtaining venous blood for analysis,
transfusion, and intravenous therapy. These superficial veins are often visible through the skin, and are
anatomically variable. These include cephalic vein, basilic vein, median cubital vein, and median
antebrachial vein. The objective of this study is to assess variations of superficial veins arrangement in
the cubital fossa. A tourniquet was applied 10 cm proximal to elbow crease for about three minutes with
active flexion and extension of fingers until the veins are exposed for observation. Four types of
superficial venous patterns were identified in cubital fossa. From the total of 800 studied arms 58.5%,
18.6%, 14%, 8.9% had type 1, type 2, type 3, and type 4 patterns, respectively. In the majority of
studied subjects, the veins patterns go with the findings of former studies. However, some rare venous
patterns were also identified.
