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Case Reports
. 2014 May 31;7(5):227-31.
doi: 10.4066/AMJ.2014.2070. eCollection 2014.

Bilateral variations of brachial plexus involving the median nerve and lateral cord: An anatomical case study with clinical implications

James J Butz  1 , Devina G Shiwlochan  1 , Kevin C Brown  1 , Alathady M Prasad  2 , Bukkambudhi V Murlimanju  3 , Srikanteswara Viswanath  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Bilateral variations of brachial plexus involving the median nerve and lateral cord: An anatomical case study with clinical implications

James J Butz et al. Australas Med J. .

Abstract

During the routine dissection of upper limbs of a Caucasian male cadaver, variations were observed in the brachial plexus. In the right extremity, the lateral cord was piercing the coracobrachialis muscle. The musculocutaneous nerve and lateral root of the median nerve were observed to be branching inferior to the lower attachment of coracobrachialis muscle. The left extremity exhibited the passage of the median nerve through the flat tendon of the coracobrachialis muscle near its distal insertion into the medial surface of the body of humerus. A variation in the course and branching of the nerve might lead to variant or dual innervation of a muscle and, if inappropriately compressed, could result in a distal neuropathy. Identification of these variants of brachial plexus plays an especially important role in both clinical diagnosis and surgical practice.

Keywords: Brachial plexus; Coracobrachialis; Lateral cord; Median nerve.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Right arm of the cadaver showing the variant lateral cord, which was piercing (↙) the coracobrachialis muscle
Figure 2
Figure 2. Left arm of the cadaver showing the variant median nerve, which was piercing (↙) the distal tendon of coracobrachialis muscle
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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