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Axillary nerve

C5–C6 origin, course through the quadrangular space, motor and sensory branches, and clinical landmarks of the axillary nerve.

  • 21 explained questions
  • 15 flashcards
  • 39 estimated course minutes

Updated

What you will learn

  • Identify the C5–C6 origin of the axillary nerve in the posterior cord of the brachial plexus.
  • Follow the nerve beneath the shoulder joint, through the quadrangular space and around the surgical neck of the humerus.
  • Recognize its collateral twigs and terminal branches to the deltoid.
  • Relate the axillary nerve to deltoid and teres-minor function and to its lateral cutaneous territory.
  • Localize typical injuries by their traumatic mechanism or compression.

Course outline

  1. The shoulder’s mixed nerve

    The motor-sensory pair that makes the axillary nerve recognizable.

    5 min

  2. Origin and course through the quadrangular space

    Connect the posterior origin to the passage beneath the shoulder and around the surgical neck.

    9 min

  3. Shoulder branches and functions

    Separate collateral twigs, terminal branches and their motor or articular functions.

    10 min

  4. Sensory territory: the sergeant’s patch

    Localize the small lateral skin patch over the lower part of the deltoid.

    7 min

  5. Injuries and clinical localization

    Relate injury mechanisms to the axillary route, deltoid and sergeant’s patch.

    8 min

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