Motor innervation of the flexor pollicis brevis: an electromyographic study

Percutaneous stimulation of the ulnar and median nerves at the wrist, with simultaneous recording of action potentials on a standard electromyograph oscilloscope, was performed to observe the motor innervation of the flexor pollicis brevis muscle. Both the deep and the superficial heads of the muscle were studied in twenty-three subjects. Results showed that the most common pattern of innervation was exclusive ulnar nerve supply in both heads, with 52.4 percent of the subjects showing this pattern. Dual supply by both median and ulnar nerves occurred next in frequency with 19.0 percent showing this pattern in both heads of the muscle. Exclusive median nerve supply was observed in only 9.5 percent of the total cases studied. The remaining 19 percent showed varying patterns, with each head of the muscle supplied differently. If no differentiation between deep and superficial heads is made, this 19 percent may be considered as dual innervation of the muscle. In this case, it may be concluded that 38 percent of the muscles studied showed some type of dual innervation.