| CASE REPORT |
|
| Year : 2014 | Volume
: 2
| Issue : 2 | Page : 74-77 |
|
|
Absence of the musculocutaneous nerve in the right upper extremity: An unusual anatomical variation with potential clinical relevance
Gabriel Godson Akunna, Ogugua Augustine Egwu, Joseph A Nwafor, Obinna Uchewa
Department of Anatomy, Federal University, Ndufu Alike Ikwo, Ebonyi, Nigeria
Correspondence Address:
Ogugua Augustine Egwu
Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Federal University Ndufu Alike Ikwo, Ebonyi
Nigeria
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/2315-7992.153821
|
|
|
Neural variations of the brachium constitute a significant anatomical and clinical entity. Variations in median and musculocutaneous nerves are common, whereas the absence of the musculocutaneous nerve (McN) is very rare. The present report is on the absence of the McN observed in the right upper extremity of a middle-aged Nigerian male cadaver during routine educational dissection in the Department of Anatomy, Ebonyi State University, Nigeria. We observed three separate branches from the median nerve innervating the coracobrachialis muscle, biceps brachii, and brachialis muscles. The muscles that are usually innervated by the McN were innervated by the median nerve in this case. Also, the longest and more distal of these branches (branch to brachialis muscles) pass between the biceps and the brachialis muscle. In the cubital fossa, it lies at the lateral margin of the biceps tendon where it continues as the lateral cutaneous nerve of the forearm. The presence of this anomaly should be considered during surgical interventions and clinical investigations of the arm as this may help plan a surgical procedure in the region of axilla and the arm, traumatology of the shoulder joint, and plastic and reconstructive repair. |
|
|
|
| [FULL TEXT] [PDF]* |
|
 |
|
