Superficial branch of the radial nerve

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Nerve: Superficial branch of the radial nerve
Diagram of segmental distribution of the cutaneous nerves of the right upper extremity. Anterior view.
Nerves of the left upper extremity.
Latin	ramus superficialis nervi radialis
Gray's	subject #210 944
Innervates
From	radial nerve
To
MeSH	[1]

The superficial branch of the radial nerve passes along the front of the radial side of the forearm to the commencement of its lower third.

It lies at first slightly lateral to the radial artery, concealed beneath the Brachioradialis. In the middle third of the forearm, it lies behind the same muscle, close to the lateral side of the artery.

It quits the artery about 7 cm. above the wrist, passes beneath the tendon of the Brachioradialis, and, piercing the deep fascia, divides into two branches: lateral and medial.

Lateral branch

The lateral branch, the smaller, supplies the skin of the radial side and ball of the thumb, joining with the volar branch of the lateral antibrachial cutaneous nerve.

Medial branch

The medial branch communicates, above the wrist, with the dorsal branch of the lateral antibrachial cutaneous, and, on the back of the hand, with the dorsal branch of the ulnar nerve.

It then divides into four digital nerves, which are distributed as follows: the first supplies the ulnar side of the thumb; the second, the radial side of the index finger; the third, the adjoining sides of the index and middle fingers; the fourth communicates with a filament from the dorsal branch of the ulnar nerve, and supplies the adjacent sides of the middle and ring fingers.

Additional images

Ulnar and radial arteries. Deep view.

Diagram of segmental distribution of the cutaneous nerves of the right upper extremity. Posterior view.

Superficial palmar nerves.

Deep palmar nerves.

Front of right upper extremity, showing surface markings for bones, arteries, and nerves.

External links

• Hand kinesiology at University of Kansas nerves/palmer.htm
• Norman/Georgetown lesson5nervesofhand

This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.