SURGICAL ANATOMY OF THE RADIAL NERVE IN THE ARM - PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS OF THE BRANCHING PATTERNS TO THE TRICEPS BRACHII

Thirty-three cadaveric dissections were performed to identify radial n erve branching patterns to the triceps brachii, Radial innervation of the long head of the triceps originated in the axilla in 88% of the ca ses and the brachio-axillary angle in 12%, Innervation of the medial h ead of the triceps originated in the spiral groove in 52% of the cases , the brachio-axillary angle in 39%, and the axilla in 9%, The lateral head was innervated by branches arising in the spiral groove in 70% o f the cases, the brachio-axillary angle in 24%, and the axilla in 6%, On average, the radial nerve crossed the midline in the proximal 45% o f the arm, 3 cm superior to the level of the deltoid insertion, An int ramuscular tendon was present in the medial head of the triceps, The t endon, located medial to the midline of the arm, was seen in all speci mens, This tendon serves as an interneural plane ,vith nerve branches descending on either side, but never crossing from one side to the oth er, Due to the complexity of radial nerve branching, this tendon may b e used as a reference plane for longitudinal splitting of the medial h ead minimizing the risk of nerve damage.