When the doctor/nurse takes blood from you, why do they try to find a vein, not an artery? And also why is this mainly done on the arm as opposed to other parts of the body?
In: Biology
Veins bleed less than arteries when you remove the needle, because the pressure is less in the veins. They are easier to see as well, the arteries in the arm can be felt but not well seen. Another thing people aren’t saying is risk. Doing arterial lines and ABGs have a risk of vasospasm, which is when the vessel “clamps down”, and can restrict blood flow. This is bad because arteries supply tissue with blood, and the tissue will die if it gets no blood, but that’s fairly rare. We do arterial lines in the wrist because there are other arteries that also supply blood to the hand, should vasospasm occur in the artery we are working on. The arm is just easiest, and least uncomfortable for people.
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