Peripheral Nerves Flashcards
What muscles does the Axillary nerve motor innervate?
Deltoid and Teres Minor
What’s the sensory area of the Axillary nerve?
Superolateral shoulder over deltoid

What nerve passes through the quadrangular space? What are the borders of the quadrangular space?
- sup: Teres Minor
- inf: Teres Major
- lat: Surgical Neck of Humerus
- med: Long Head of Triceps
What motor function(s) will be compromised/lost with injury to the Axillary nerve?
- shoulder abduction (15°-90°)
- (teres minor can’t be isolated, so can’t evaluate weakness)
- (also provides some innervation to triceps long head)
Injury to the Axillary nerve will lead to what sensory loss and/or feeling?
- sensory deficit and/or pain over a small area over superolateral shoulder
- possible point tenderness in quadrilateral space and teres minor insertion
What’s Teres Syndrome?
- compression of axillary nerve in quadrilateral (quadrangular) space
- more common in px with severely internally rotated shoulders/overhead sports players, etc.
What muscles does the Musculocutaneous nerve motor innervate?
- Biceps Brachii
- Brachialis
- Coracobrachialis
What’s the sensory area of the Musculocutaneous nerve?
Lateral forearm (via lateral antebrachial cutaneous nerve from elbow to wrist).

What’s the most common upper limb nerve to be affected by diabetic neuropathy?
musculocutaneous
What actions are governed by the median nerve? Which are solely innervated and which are shared?
- Sole
- forearm pronation
- thumb opposition
- Shared with ulnar
- wrist flexion
- thumb flexion
- finger flexion
- Shared with radial
- wrist abduction
- thumb abduction

What’s the sensory area of the median nerve? What’s the area of isolated supply and what’s the primary zone?
- Isolated (sole)
- anterior and posterior aspects of distal tips of fingers 2 and 3
- Primary Zone (shared):
- anterior: lateral 2/3 of palm; boundaries include midline of finger 4 to wrist line
- posterior: distal 2/3 fingers 2 and 3, lateral 1/2 finger 4 (excluding tips of fingers 2 and 3)

What are the sensory areas of the MARMU nerves of the brachial plexus?

What’s pronator teres syndrome? What are some possible causes? What are some clinical findings (i.e. how will px present)?
- Median nerve gets entrapped between superficial (humeral) and deep (ulnar) heads of pronator teres muscle.
- Caused by elbow trauma, repetitive elbow flexion, supination and pronation of forearm
- Clinical findings include chronic forearm pain/aching especially with pronation of forearm and parasthesias in the median nerve cutaneous supply
Where is the most common site for median nerve injuries? Why there?
Wrist is most common site because:
- suicide attempts
- fractures, dislocations, some sprains
- carpal tunnel syndrome
What muscles are motor innervated by the Median nerve? Which are solely innervated and which are shared?
- Sole
- pronator teres
- pronator quadratus
- opponens pollicis
- flexor carpi radialis
- flexor pollicis longus
- flexor digitorum superficialis
- lumbricals 1 and 2 (MCP flexion at digits 2 and 3)
- Shared with ulnar
- palmaris longus
- flexor pollicis brevis (superficial 1/2)
- flexor digitorum profundus (radial/lateral 1/2)
- Shared with radial
- flexor carpi radialis
- abductor pollicis brevis
What are the muscles of forearm pronation innervated by the median nerve? Which are solely innervated and which are shared with other nerves?
Forearm pronation is solely innervated by median:
- pronator teres
- pronator quadratus
What are the muscles of wrist flexion innervated by the median nerve? Which are solely innervated and which are shared with other nerves?
Action is shared with ulnar.
Median:
- Sole
- flexor carpi radialis
- palmaris longus (if person has one)
- flexor digitorum superficialis
- flexor pollicis longus (somewhat contributes to wrist flx)
- Shared
- 1/2 flexor digitorum profundus
What are the muscles of wrist abduction innervated by the median nerve? Which are solely innervated and which are shared with other nerves?
Action is shared with radial (but radial innervates different abductor mm)
Median (sole):
- flexor carpi radialis
- flexor pollicis longus (has some effect on wrist abduction)
What are the muscles of thumb abduction innervated by the median nerve? Which are solely innervated and which are shared with other nerves?
Sole
- Opponens Pollicis
What are the muscles of Thumb Flexion innervated by the median nerve? Which are solely innervated and which are shared with other nerves?
Action shared with ulnar
Median:
- Sole
- flexor pollicis longus
- Shared
- flexor pollicis brevis (1/2)
What are the muscles of thumb abduction innervated by the median nerve? Which are solely innervated and which are shared with other nerves?
Action is shared with radial
Median:
- shared
- abductor pollicis brevis
What are the muscles of finger flexion innervated by the median nerve? Which are solely innervated and which are shared with other nerves?
Action is shared with ulnar
Median:
Fingers 2 - 5
- sole
- flexor digitorum superficialis
- shared
- flexor digitorum profundus (1/2)
Fingers 2 and 3:
- sole
- lumbricals 1 and 2 (MCP flexion at digits 2 and 3)

What’s the area of isolated (sole) supply for the median nerve? What’s the primary zone?
Isolated: anterior and posterior aspects of distal tips of fingers 2 and 3
Primary:
- anterior: lateral 2/3 of palm, boundaries include midline of finger 4 to wrist line
- posterior: distal 2/3 fingers 2 and 3, lateral 1/2 finger 4 (excluding tips of fingers 2 and 3)

What are the autonomics of the median nerve?
Median nerve carries majority of autonomic fibres for the entire arm, forearm and hand





















