
Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Medial brachial cutaneous nerve
Introduction
Overview
Overview
The medial brachial cutaneous nerve (lesser internal cutaneous nerve; nerve of Wrisberg, medial cutaneous nerve of arm) is distributed to the skin on the medial brachial side of the arm.
It is the smallest branch of the brachial plexus, and arising from the medial cord receives its fibers from the eighth cervical and first thoracic nerves. It passes through the axilla, at first lying behind, and then medial to the axillary vein, and communicates with the intercostobrachial nerve.
It descends along the medial side of the brachial artery to the middle of the arm, where it pierces the deep fascia, and is distributed to the skin of the back of the lower third of the arm, extending as far as the elbow, where some filaments are lost in the skin in front of the medial epicondyle, and others over the olecranon.
It communicates with the ulnar branch of the medial antebrachial cutaneous nerve.
Additional images
Additional images
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Brachial plexus
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Cutaneous nerves of right upper extremity. Anterior view.
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Cutaneous nerves of right upper extremity. Posterior view.
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Diagram of segmental distribution of the cutaneous nerves of the right upper extremity. Posterior view.
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

