CUTANEUS NERVES OF THE

UPPER LIMB
By Idy Umoh
•
Cutaneous innervation refers to the area of
the skin which is supplied by a specific nerve
• Arm and shoulder
• Supraclavicular nerves (yellow)
• Axillary nerve (blue). Also Superior lateral cutaneous nerve of arm.
• Inferior lateral cutaneous nerve of arm - Near blue "axillary" area,
but actually branches from radial nerve. Most modern sources
distinguish the superior and inferior, but some still include a single
"lateral brachial cutaneous nerve". )
• Intercostobrachial nerve (purple)
• Medial cutaneous nerve of arm (yellow) - labeled as "medial
brachial cutaneous".
• Posterior cutaneous nerve of arm (pink) - not explicitly
distinguished from that of Posterior cutaneous nerve of forearm on
diagram, but is often distinguished in modern terminology
• Forearm
➢ Lateral cutaneous nerve of forearm (purple) -
labeled as "lat. antibrach. cut.". Branch
of musculocutaneous nerve.
➢ Medial cutaneous nerve of forearm (green) -
labeled as "medial antibrach. cutaneous". Branch
of medial cord.
➢ Posterior cutaneous nerve of forearm (pink) -
labeled as "dorsal antibrach. cut." Branch
of radial nerve.
• Hand
➢Superficial branch of the radial nerve (yellow)
➢Median nerve (pink)
➢Superficial branch of ulnar nerve (blue)