Cardiovascular Quiz 3
Question 1
Name the artery which the red arrow points towards.
Hover over the icon for the answer:
(Left) Internal Thoracic Artery (ITA)
Question 2
State the clinical significance of this artery.
Answer:
The ITA can be used as a graft is cardiac artery bypass surgery (CABG)
Question 3
Name the other vessels commonly harvested for cardiac artery bypass surgery.
Answer:
Radial artery and great saphenous vein
Question 4
What test must be performed to consider the radial artery suitable for harvesting and why?
Answer:
Allen’s Test is performed to investigate blood flow to the hand. A patent ulnar artery is required so that the radial artery on that hand can be considered for harvesting.
Question 5
Describe how this test is performed.
Answer:
With the hand held up, both the radial and ulnar artery are occluded with pressure around the wrist. The patient is then asked to squeeze their fist to drain the hand of blood. The ulnar artery is released and the time taken for colour to return to the palm is noted. If refill time is greater than 6 seconds than the test is considered negative i.e. the ulnar artery is not suitably patent.