Nasirudeen Oladipupo Ajayi; Lelika Lazarus & Kapil Sewsaran Satyapal

Summary

During routine dissection of the upper limbs of a Caucasian male cadaver, multiple variations of the branches of the brachial plexus were observed. On the left side, the musculocutaneous nerve was absent and the muscles of the anterior compartment of the arm were innervated by the median nerve. The median nerve was also formed from three roots viz; two from the lateral and one from the medial cord of the brachial plexus. On the right side, the musculocutaneous nerve contributed a long communicating branch to the median nerve in the distal half of the arm. There were also communicating branches between the ulnar and radial nerves in both limbs at the humeral level. The co-existence of these variations appears to be unique and has not been reported in the literature reviewed. The anatomic and clinical significance of these variations is discussed.

KEY WORDS: Brachial plexus; Variations; median nerve; Musculocutaneous nerve; Ulnar nerve; Radial nerve; Communication.

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