Acta Med. 2011, 54: 131-134

https://doi.org/10.14712/18059694.2016.36

Unilateral Intercordal Neural Communication Coexistent with Variant Branching Pattern of Posterior Cord of Brachial Plexus

Renu Baliyan, Vandana Mehta, Jyoti Arora, Ashish Kr. Nayyar, R. K. Suri, Gaytri Rath

Department of Anatomy, Vardhman Mahavir Medical College, New Delhi, India

Received March 14, 2011
Accepted August 2, 2011

Variant branching pattern of the cords of brachial plexus coupled with erroneous communications has been an area of concern for surgeons opting to explore this region. Anaesthetic blocks and surgical approaches are the highlights of these interventions, where a keen familiarization of the anatomy of this region is mandatory. The present case description reports a unilateral variant branching pattern of the posterior cord coexistent with a neural communication between lateral and medial cords in an adult male cadaver. This intercordal neural communication between lateral and medial cords was oriented obliquely and measured 2.2 cm in length. Furthermore, the posterior cord revealed a variant branching pattern. It branched into three upper subscapular nerves and a common trunk for the thoracodorsal and lower subscapular nerves. The lowest of the three upper subscapular nerves gave a communicating twig to the thoracodorsal nerve. Inspite of uncountable reports on variations of brachial plexus, descriptions regarding anomalous branching patterns hold enormous clinical significance for the radiologists, anesthetists and surgeons, besides being of academic interest for the anatomists.

References

18 live references