An intravascular needle and catheter arrangement that ensures flashback is indicated after the catheter is safely inserted through the needle puncture in the vascular wall and emplaced into the vessel. This placement location, at which flashback first occurs is sufficient to begin threading the catheter without risk of over-insertion or under-insertion. The catheter overlies a needle having a distal tip that defines a point. The needle tip includes an enclosed distal-most end and a port located along at least one of the proximal portion of the point and an adjacent cylindrical sidewall of the needle. The distal end of the catheter exposes the port for entry of blood from a vessel thereinto only after the distal end of the catheter has entered sufficiently into the interior of the vessel. An opposing second side of the tip defines a curved surface that prevents puncturing of the back vessel wall.