The antecubital fossa

To the anatomist, the antecubital fossa is the space through which the principal vascular and nervous trunks pass into the forearm. To the surgeon, it is also the site of possible injury to the brachial artery in fractures around the elbow, with the risk of Volkmann's ischaemic contracture constantly in mind. It is here that the surgeon may be tempted to use the large superficial veins for venous access, but knows the dangers of inadvertent intra-arterial or intraneural injection, which he may encounter in a ‘mainline’ drug addict. It is also a convenient site for arterial cannulation and for anaesthetic blocks of the nerves to the forearm.