Last word on brachial plexus roots/branches? What resource to trust?

[mcloaf]

Just a quick question: we recently covered the brachial plexus in anatomy, and I'm having trouble figuring out what resources to trust in terms of which spinal roots are included in which of the principal terminal branches because different resources I check say different things (i.e. class handouts, firecracker, wikipedia...). Just wondering if any of you have encountered this before and what I should be trusting here. Supposedly FC is pulled from FA, or so I thought...so should I just go with what they say?

Is C7 included in either the musculocutaneous or ulnar nerves? Does the median nerve include C5? There seems to be agreement that axillary is C5/6, and radial is C5-8/T1.

Thanks.

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[JJMrK]

Usually people say MC n. is C5-7, U n. is C8-T1. Median nerve thing depends on the source you read, with some saying C5-T1, others C6-T1, etc. No one will ever ask you "Does C5 contribute to the median nerve? True or False" on a test, so don't worry about it, just know it's controversial.

 

[Anastomoses]

Median nerve contains fibers from all roots. Musculotaneous is derived from the lateral cord, which is formed by the anterior divisions of the upper and middle trunks --> roots C5, C6, C7. I'm almost sure the Ulnar is just C8, T1.

 

[Southplains]

As far as final word for your course, I would ask the professor. For us it was Moore's COA.

Musculocutaneous C5, C6, C7
Axillary C5, C6
Median C5, C6, C7, C8, T1
Radial C5, C6, C7, C8, T1
Ulnar C8, T1

This is easier to show in person but this is how I remembered it: Your hand has five finger, each is a spinal root (thumb C5, pinky T1). Hold them up and say this mnemonic accordingly. "3 Musketeers (thumb, index, and middle) Assassinated (making a gun with thumb and index), 5 Mice (all five fingers), 5 Rats (all five fingers), and 2 (ring finger and pinky) Unicorns.

The fingers show you the roots, and the words indicate the nerve. Did that make sense haha?

 

[eefen]

As far as final word for your course, I would ask the professor. For us it was Moore's COA.

Musculocutaneous C5, C6, C7
Axillary C5, C6
Median C5, C6, C7, C8, T1
Radial C5, C6, C7, C8, T1
Ulnar C8, T1

This is easier to show in person but this is how I remembered it: Your hand has five finger, each is a spinal root (thumb C5, pinky T1). Hold them up and say this mnemonic accordingly. "3 Musketeers (thumb, index, and middle) Assassinated (making a gun with thumb and index), 5 Mice (all five fingers), 5 Rats (all five fingers), and 2 (ring finger and pinky) Unicorns.

The fingers show you the roots, and the words indicate the nerve. Did that make sense haha?

+1

That's how we did it too...

 

[Punkn]

As far as final word for your course, I would ask the professor. For us it was Moore's COA.

Musculocutaneous C5, C6, C7
Axillary C5, C6
Median C5, C6, C7, C8, T1
Radial C5, C6, C7, C8, T1
Ulnar C8, T1

This is easier to show in person but this is how I remembered it: Your hand has five finger, each is a spinal root (thumb C5, pinky T1). Hold them up and say this mnemonic accordingly. "3 Musketeers (thumb, index, and middle) Assassinated (making a gun with thumb and index), 5 Mice (all five fingers), 5 Rats (all five fingers), and 2 (ring finger and pinky) Unicorns.

The fingers show you the roots, and the words indicate the nerve. Did that make sense haha?

Great mnemonic, haha. These are the roots that are generally accepted where I train.

 

[ulikedaggers]

MARMU - first three, first two, all, all, last few.

Musculocutaneous = 5, 6, 7 ("first three")
Axillary = 5, 6 ("first two")
Radial = 5, 6, 7, 8, T1 ("all")
Median = 5, 6, 7, 7, T1 ("all")
Ulnar = 8, T1, sometimes C7 ("last few")

Though I believe FA and the like all peg ulnar as C8, T1 only. Fibers from C7 was probably just a school-specific thing.