Radial artery

Looks like

The forearm artery on the thumb side, lying just under the skin at the wrist, where you feel the pulse.

What it does

Supplies the thumb-side forearm and wrist and ends as the deep palmar arch in the hand.

Keeping it well

Used for pulse checks, blood-gas tests, heart catheters and as a bypass graft; check with the Allen test that the ulnar artery can feed the hand alone.

Related conditions

• Compartment syndrome
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Hypothermia & frostbite
• Kawasaki disease
• Lymphangitis
• Metabolic syndrome
• Orthostatic hypotension & POTS
• Peripheral artery disease
• Phaeochromocytoma & hyperaldosteronism
• Pre-eclampsia
• Raynaud's phenomenon
• Sepsis
• Shock (circulatory failure)
• Vasculitis (GCA & others)