The histogenesis and morphology of the digital venous drainage in human embryonic and fetal hands, aged from 6 to 12 weeks, were studied by light microscopy in 18 fingers. In the sixth week, capillaries could be identified around the cartilaginous models of the phalanges. By the ninth week, the neurovascular bundles were identifiable in the palmar part of the finger. In 12 week fetuses, all of the superficial and deep vascular venous system could be seen easily in the palmar aspect of the finger in positions similar to those in the adult hand. However, the arch systems, present on the dorsum of the finger in the adult hand, were not yet differentiated.
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