NERVE SUPPLY OF THE NIPPLE - ONLY FROM THE 4TH OR FROM SEVERAL INTERCOSTAL NERVES - A CLINICAL EXPERIMENT AND AN ANATOMICAL INVESTIGATION

The hypothesis that the lateral cutaneous branch from the fourth inter costal nerve is the only nerve supplying the nipple was tested in a cl inical experiment and anatomical dissections. Local anaesthetic block was applied to the lateral cutaneous branch of the fourth nerve during augmentation mammaplasty. The anaesthetic failed to produce numbness of the nipple, suggesting that more than one nerve is involved. Anatom ical dissections in female cadaver breasts revealed that in all cases there are nerve branches other than those from the fourth intercostal nerve which give additional nerve supply to the nipple.