A further morphological study of the persistent median artery in neonatal cadavers

Persistent median artery was studied in 60 upper limbs of 30 neonatal cadavers. It was found in 12 (20%) specimens while partial atrophy in the distal part of the median artery was detected in 9 (15%) specimens. These findings correlated well with those of other series including the authors' previous study which covered both adults and neonates. There was no significant difference statistically between the authors' current and previous studies (p > 0.05). Therefore both studies were combined. The incidence of persistent median artery in this enlarged series (100 specimens) was 17%. This rate of persistent median artery was higher than those of most other published series. We believe this may be due to evolutionary and racial trends; the neonatal origin of our specimens would be another differing factor. Partial atrophy of the median artery, and the different incidences in neonates and adults raised the possibility that the median artery regresses at a later age, possibly during perinatal and early infancy period.