Figure 4

Radial artery flexion. a and b: A 72-year-old woman with an unruptured cerebral aneurysm. Resistance was felt when advancing the wire for sheath insertion, and contrast agent was therefore injected via the puncture needle, revealing sharp flexion of the radial artery (a). When the wire (0.025 inch, diameter 0.635 mm) was advanced in line with the area of flexion, the flexure extended and it was possible to insert the sheath (b). c: A 74-year-old woman with an unruptured cerebral aneurysm. Even when the guide wire for sheath insertion was passed through the area of flexion, the flexure did not extend, and sheath insertion was therefore discontinued. The SBA could not be identified, but the anastomotic branch between the SBA and the brachial artery was probably contrasted as the flexure of the radial artery.