The lateral antebrachial cutaneous nerve (or lateral cutaneous nerve of forearm) (branch of

musculocutaneous nerve The musculocutaneous nerve arises from the lateral cord of the brachial plexus, opposite the lower border of the pectoralis major, its fibers being derived from C5, C6 and C7. Structure The musculocutaneous nerve arises from the lateral cor ...

, also sometimes spelled "antebrachial") passes behind the

cephalic vein In human anatomy, the cephalic vein is a superficial vein in the arm. It originates from the radial end of the dorsal venous network of hand, and ascends along the radial (lateral) side of the arm before emptying into the axillary vein. At the e ...

, and divides, opposite the

elbow-joint The elbow is the region between the arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and the me ...

, into a volar and a

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal c ...

branch.

Volar branch

The volar branch (ramus volaris; anterior branch) descends along the radial border of the

forearm The forearm is the region of the upper limb between the elbow and the wrist. The term forearm is used in anatomy to distinguish it from the arm, a word which is most often used to describe the entire appendage of the upper limb, but which in ...

to the wrist, and supplies the skin over the lateral half of its volar surface. At the wrist-joint it is placed in front of the

radial artery In human anatomy, the radial artery is the main artery of the lateral aspect of the forearm. Structure The radial artery arises from the bifurcation of the brachial artery in the antecubital fossa. It runs distally on the anterior part of th ...

, and some filaments, piercing the deep fascia, accompany that vessel to the dorsal surface of the

carpus In human anatomy, the wrist is variously defined as (1) the carpus or carpal bones, the complex of eight bones forming the proximal skeletal segment of the hand; "The wrist contains eight bones, roughly aligned in two rows, known as the carpal ...

. The nerve then passes downward to the ball of the thumb, where it ends in cutaneous filaments. It communicates with the superficial branch of the radial nerve, and with the palmar cutaneous branch of the

median nerve The median nerve is a nerve in humans and other animals in the upper limb. It is one of the five main nerves originating from the brachial plexus. The median nerve originates from the lateral and medial cords of the brachial plexus, and has cont ...

Dorsal branch

The dorsal branch (ramus dorsalis; posterior branch) descends, along the dorsal surface of the radial side of the forearm to the

wrist In human anatomy, the wrist is variously defined as (1) the carpus or carpal bones, the complex of eight bones forming the proximal skeletal segment of the hand; "The wrist contains eight bones, roughly aligned in two rows, known as the carp ...

. It supplies the skin of the lower two-thirds of the dorso-lateral surface of the forearm, communicating with the superficial branch of the radial nerve and the

dorsal antebrachial cutaneous branch The posterior cutaneous nerve of forearm is a nerve found in humans and other animals. It is also known as the dorsal antebrachial cutaneous nerve, the external cutaneous branch of the musculospiral nerve, and the posterior antebrachial cutaneous n ...

of the radial nerve.

Additional images

File:Gray413_color.png, Cross-section through the middle of upper arm. File:Gray417_color.PNG, Cross-section through the middle of the forearm. File:Gray811and813.PNG, Cutaneous nerves of right upper extremity. Anterior view.

References

External links

* * , * * - "Cutaneous nerves of the upper extremity." * Nerves of the upper limb {{Neuroanatomy-stub

Volar branch

Dorsal branch

See also

Additional images

References

External links