Bilateral variations of the brachial plexus involving the lateral cord and median nerve: an anatomical case study with clinical implications (915.8)

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In the course of routine dissection of the upper limbs of a Caucasian male cadaver, bilateral variations were observed in the brachial plexus. In the right extremity, the lateral cord was found to be 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 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 the humerus. A variation in the course and branching of a 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 the clinical diagnosis of musculoskeletal pathology and surgical practice.