Encyclopedia entry

Axillary Nerve

Published on 9 August 2026Version 1

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Abstract

The axillary nerve may be derived solely from the fifth cervical nerve; the contribution from the sixth cervical may be insignificant or absent altogether. It may pierce and supply a branch to m. subscapularis. Branches to the long head of the triceps and infraspinatus muscles have been described. The nerve to teres major may arise from the axillary nerve instead of the lower subscapular nerve. The axillary and lower subscapular nerves have been found traversing subscapularis beneath an accessory subscapular muscle. Breisch considered the arrangement a possible nerve entrapment site.

The axillary nerve may be derived solely from the fifth cervical nerve; the contribution from the sixth cervical may be insignificant or absent altogether.

It may pierce and supply a branch to m. subscapularis.

Branches to the long head of the triceps and infraspinatus muscles have been described.

The nerve to teres major may arise from the axillary nerve instead of the lower subscapular nerve.

The axillary and lower subscapular nerves have been found traversing subscapularis beneath an accessory subscapular muscle. Breisch considered the arrangement a possible nerve entrapment site.

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Figura della scheda «Axillary Nerve», da Anatomy Atlases — Anatomy Atlases. Image hosted by the site it comes from. Open the original page.

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Riferimenti dell’opera originale

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Birmingham, A. (1889) Homology and innervation of the achselbogen and pectoralis quartus, and the nature of the lateral cutaneous nerve of the thorax. J. Anat. Physiol. 23:206-223.
Breisch, E.A. (1986) A rare variation: the relationship of the axillary and inferior subscapular nerves to an accessory subscapularis muscle. Anat. Rec. 216:440-442.
Henle, J. (1868) Handbuch der Systematischen Anatomy des Menschen. von Friedrich Vieweg und Sohn., Braunschweig.
Gerard, G. and P. Cordier. (1920) Anomalies dans la distribution du nerf circonflex. Soc. Biol. Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Séances et Mémoires 83:927-929.
Latarjet, A. (1948) Testut's Traité d'Anatomie Humaine, 9th ed., G. Doin & Cie., Paris.
Schaefer, E.A., Symington, J. and T.H. Bryce, Eds. (1915) Quain's Anatomy, 11th ed., Longmans, Green, and Co., London.

Anatomical classification

Systems:: Nervous system

Content provenance

Adaptation

Adaptation of «Axillary Nerve — Illustrated Encyclopedia of Human Anatomic Variation: Opus I: Muscular System» by Ronald A. Bergman, Adel K. Afifi, Ryosuke Miyauchi. Source: https://www.anatomyatlases.org/AnatomicVariants/NervousSystem/Text/AxillaryNerve.shtml Original work distributed under the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.it). Adaptation by Redazione AIVA. Changes from the original: Testo originale inglese riprodotto integralmente e riorganizzato nel formato scheda del portale (sintesi, testo, riferimenti), senza modificarne le affermazioni. La traduzione italiana non è ancora stata eseguita, e la pagina lo dichiara. Le figure non sono state copiate: sono collegate alla pagina d’origine. This publication is not approved or endorsed by the authors of the original work.

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