Journal of anatomy
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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. ⋯ The distance between the retinaculum and the superficial palmar arch in the axial line of the 4th metacarpal bone was on average 7.3 +/- 4.3 mm on the right and 8.3 +/- 3.5 mm on the left side. At the same level, the distance between the retinaculum and the communicating branch was 6.2 +/- 3.7 mm on the right side and 5.1 +/- 2.8 mm on the left. These results can be used as a reference during surgical procedures in the palmar region.