Locating the lateral antebrachial cutaneous nerve.

Area of Science:

• Anatomy
• Surgical Anatomy
• Neuroscience

Background:

• The lateral antebrachial cutaneous nerve is the distal sensory continuation of the musculocutaneous nerve.
• Precise anatomical knowledge is crucial for surgical and anesthetic procedures involving this nerve.

Purpose of the Study:

• To precisely define the anatomical location of the proximal lateral antebrachial cutaneous nerve.
• To provide data for improved surgical and anesthetic techniques.

Main Methods:

• Dissection of 20 antebrachial specimens.
• Anatomical localization and identification of the nerve's emergence point.
• Testing anesthetic efficacy in 10 volunteers using lidocaine.

Main Results:

• The nerve emerges from the lateral aspect of the biceps tendon at the interepicondylar line level.
• This location differs from descriptions in many anatomical and surgical texts.
• Successful anesthesia of the nerve's distribution was achieved with 1.5 ml of 1% lidocaine.

Conclusions:

• Accurate anatomical localization of the proximal lateral antebrachial cutaneous nerve is established.
• This precise localization has significant implications for surgeons and anesthesiologists.
• Applications include supplementing failed axillary blocks, managing musculocutaneous impingement syndrome, nerve harvesting, and differentiating sensory distributions.