Anatomical description of the origin and distribution of the brachial plexus to the antebrachium in one puma (Puma concolor) (Linnaeus, 1771).

Abstract

The knowledge of the anatomy of the brachial plexus in animals is of great importance due to its applicability in clinical, diagnostic and surgical procedures. The objective of the present study was to describe the anatomy of the brachial plexus in the puma. The results demonstrate a broad anatomical similarity with other felines; however, some differences were found. The formation of the brachial plexus in the puma occurred from the ventral interconnections of the last three cervical nerve segments and the first thoracic (C6, C7, C8 and T1). The N. suprascapularis emerges from C6, innervating the M. supraspinatus, the M. infraspinatus, and also the M. cleidobrachialis, the latter by a smaller branch. We found an independent branch emerging from C6 that innervates the M. serratus ventralis cervicis, not reported in other species. The innervation territory of the N. axillary includes the M. cleidobrachialis. The M. teres major was not innervated by the axillary nerve, but by an entirely independent branch that came from C6 and C7, and that also innervated the most caudal part of the M. subscapularis.