Biometric study of the relationships between palmar neurovascular structures, the flexor retinaculum and the distal wrist crease.

During surgical exposure of the carpal tunnel it is possible to injure the neurovascular structures closely related to the flexor retinaculum, such as the superficial palmar arch and the communicating branch between the ulnar and median nerves. Because of the importance of these structures and with the purpose of increasing knowledge of anatomical details concerning to their location, a biometric study was performed on the retinaculum and the communicating branch, and between the communicating branch and the distal wrist crease, as well as between the retinaculum and the superficial palmar arch. We dissected 56 hands from 28 Brazilian formalin-preserved cadavers of both sexes (24 male) at the Federal University of São Paulo-Escola Paulista de Medicina, Brazil.