Emergency and Trajectory of the Superior Epigastric Arteries: Aplication on the Assessement Abdominal Surgery / Emergencia y Trayecto de Las Arterias Epigastricas Superiores: Aplicacion en Los Abcesos Quirurgicos Abdominales‪.‬

ROCHA, A.C.; SOUZA, L.F.; SOUSA-RODRIGUES, C.F.; FILHO, B.H.; JUCA, M.J. & NUNES, A.M. Emergency and trajectory of the superior epigastric arteries: Aplication on the assessement abdominal surgery. Int. J. Morphol., 24(1):25-30, 2006. SUMMARY: The knowledge of the vascularization of the anterior abdominal wall is very important on the incisions and abdominal punctures, contributing to avoid the injuries of this vessels during this procedures. With the goal to study the emergency and the trajectory of the superior epigastric arteries, 32 adult not preserved cadavers, of the masculine sex, white and not white, with age between 18 and 65 years were studied. The trajectory of the superior epigastric arteries, your emergency and distribution form were observed. The superior epigastric arteries emerged behind to 7th costal cartilage in all the cases. In 75% of the cases they appeared like an only trunk and in 15 cases (23,44%) they appeared forked, being 11 to the right and 04 to the left and in 01 case (1,56%) to the left, it'd origin three main branches. When in an only trunk, your trajectory went descending of medial for lateral in relationship to the lateral margin of the rectus abdominal muscle. When forked, your branches separated one of the other immediatelly after your emergency, back converging close to the umbilical scar.