Cutaneous nerves of upper extremity:
We will discuss ultrasound location of following
nerves in the section
Medial cutaneous nerve of forearm:
Lateral cutaneous nerve of forearm:
Intercostobrachial nerve:
Following diagram shows cutaneous innervation of upper extremity taken
from Gray's anatomy:
Medial cutaneous nerve of forearm (Medial
antebrachial cutaneous nerve):
It arises from the medial cord.
The nerve then runs on the medial side of arm medial to the brachial
artery. It then pierces the deep fascia at midarm level to travel
along with basilic vein. It then divided into two branches which
communicate with other cutaneous nerves to supply the medial side of
forearm.
Following video shows how to locate the nerve:
To find this nerve start scanning at the level of elbow on the medial
side. scan over the basilic vein. Once the vein is found,
trace it towards the axilla and look for the nerve around it. You
will need a very good machine with a high frequency probe to locate this
nerve.
The nerve is blocked in the arm, around the vein, before the nerve branches and where it is seen well.
Lateral Cutaneous nerve of forearm (lateral antebrachial cutaneous nerve):
It is a continuation of musculocutaneous nerve. Musculocutaneous nerve passess through the substance of coracobrachialis muscle and then between biceps and brachialis muscle to the lateral side of arm and then pierces the deep fascia to lie lateral to biceps tendon. It then lies alongside the cephalic vein before dividing into branches. The following picture shows the musculocutaneous passing through the arm between biceps and brachialis.
Following video shows ultrasound location of lateral cutaneous nerve of forearm. The scan starts at elbow finding the cephalic vein and then identifying the nerve and then following it as it travels through the arm.
Intercostobrachial Nerve:
Is this the intercostobrachial? answers to cambridgecourse@aol.com
