Şevki KABAK1, Nihat EKİNCİ2, Mehmet HALICI1, Sinan KARAOĞLU1, Erdoğan UNUR3, Harun ÜLGER3

1Erciyes Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Ortopedi ve Travmatoloji Anabilim Dalı
2Erciyes Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Anatomi Anabilim Dal
3Erciyes Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Anatomi Anabilim Dalı

Keywords: Median Nerve, Variation.

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study is determining anomalous formations of the median nerve in the arm.
Patients and methods: For this purpose, the course of the median nerve was investigated in the arms of 30 adults cadavers.
Results: Median nerves of 30 cadavers were inspected with classical dissection method from the level of axilla to the arm. Anatomic variations of he median nerve were detected in 7 cadavers. In these cadavers the median nerves were formed by the fusion of three roots; one of them coming from the medial fascicle, one from the lateral fascicle, and one from the lateral fascicle either directly or through the musculocutaneous nerve. In five of seven cadavers with variation, the third root arose from the lateral fascicle and was joined to the median nerve at the distal level. In the remaining two cases, the third root arose from the branches coming from the lateral fascicle and joined to the median nerve distal to the origination of the musculocutaneous nerve.
Conclusion: The anatomic variations of the median nerve must be kept in mind to avoid mistakes in surgical operations of the axillary region and the arm.