Dorsal metacarpal arteries

Artery: Dorsal metacarpal arteries
Arteries of the back of the forearm and hand. (Dorsal metacarpal visible at bottom center.)
Latin	arteriae metacarpales dorsales
Gray's	subject #151 594
Source	dorsal carpal arch
Branches	dorsal digital arteries
Vein	dorsal metacarpal veins

Most of the dorsal metacarpal arteries arise from the dorsal carpal arch and run downward on the second, third, and fourth dorsal interossei of the hand and bifurcate into the dorsal digital arteries. Near their origin, they anastomose with the deep palmar arch by perforating arteries. They also anastomose with common palmar digital arteries (from the superficial palmar arch), also via perforating arteries.

The first dorsal metacarpal artery arises directly from the radial artery before it crosses through the two heads of the first dorsal interosseous muscle.

External links

• dorsal+metacarpal+artery at eMedicine Dictionary
• Atlas of anatomy at UMich hand_blood3 - "Dorsum of the hand, deep dissection, posterior view"

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained within it may be outdated.