THE RADIAL SENSORY NERVE ENTRAPPED BETWEEN THE 2 SLIPS OF A SPLIT BRACHIORADIALIS TENDON - A RARE ASPECT OF WARTENBERG-SYNDROME

A retrospective study was designed to verify how often an anatomic var iation caused the radial sensory nerve entrapment at the forearm (Wart enberg's syndrome). This variation, in which the superficial branch of the radial nerve emerges from under the fascia between two slips of a split brachioradialis tendon, was mentioned once in a clinical textbo ok as a basis for nerve entrapment but was found to occur in 5 of 150 dissected arms in 4 of 75 cadavers (3.3% of the investigated arms) in a recent anatomic study. To evaluate the incidence of this variation, 143 operative reports from patients who had Wartenberg's syndrome were reviewed. The variation was observed in seven patients. We conclude t hat any operation for Wartenberg's syndrome should include a thorough investigation of the site where the radial sensory nerve emerges from under the fascia and, if the nerve emerges through a split brachioradi alis tendon, the anomalous tendon slip should be divided.