Long thoracic nerve
Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data
At the time the article was created Chamath Ariyasinghe had no recorded disclosures.
View Chamath Ariyasinghe's current disclosuresAt the time the article was last revised Paul Heyworth had no recorded disclosures.
View Paul Heyworth's current disclosuresThe long thoracic nerve is a posterior branch from the C5, C6 and C7 roots of the brachial plexus, and supplies the serratus anterior muscle.
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Gross anatomy
Origin
The long thoracic nerve arises from the anterior rami of the fifth, sixth and seventh cervical nerves.
Mnemonic
A useful mnemonic for the cervical roots of the long thoracic nerve is:
C5-6-7 reach to heaven (as abducting the glenohumeral joint causes scapular winging).
Course
The nerve descends posterior to the roots of the brachial plexus and anterior to the scalenus posterior muscle and has a long course along the chest wall in the mid-axillary line to lie on the superficial surface of the serratus anterior muscle, which it innervates.
Variant anatomy
The long thoracic nerve also has supply from the eighth cervical nerve in ~10% of the population.
Related pathology
The long thoracic nerve is susceptible to damage (causing backpack palsy) due to its long and superficial course either from direct trauma or stretching of the nerve. Damage to the nerve may also occur during surgical procedures including thoracoplasty, axillary nodal clearance, mastectomy and resection of the first rib. The risk of injury to the long thoracic nerve is far greater in patients following a radical mastectomy (with clearance of the axillary lymph nodes) compared with simple mastectomy.
Long thoracic nerve palsy causes winging of the scapula as the serratus anterior muscle no longer holds the scapula against the chest wall.
References
- 1. Clinically Oriented Anatomy. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. ISBN:1451119453. Read it at Google Books - Find it at Amazon
- 2. Last's Anatomy. Churchill Livingstone. ISBN:0702033944. Read it at Google Books - Find it at Amazon
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