Turkish Neurosurgery 2010 , Vol 20 , Num 2
The Surgical Anatomy of the Brachial Plexus
I. Murat AKBORU1, İlker SOLMAZ2, H. Ibrahim SECER3, Yusuf IZCI4, Mehmet DANEYEMEZ5
1Etimesgut Military Hospital, Department of Neurosurgery, Ankara, Turkey
2,3,4,5Gülhane Military Medical Academy, Department of Neurosurgery, Ankara, Turkey
DOI : 10.5137/1019-5149.JTN.2368-09.2 AIM: The brachial plexus (BP) has a complex structure and risky relations with its neighborhoods. This study was designed to investigate and overcome the morphometric features of the BP and the difficulties regarding surgery of BP lesions.

MATERIAL and METHOD: Twelve BP of six adult cadavers were dissected and neural structures, branches, and variations were evaluated. Morphometric measurements were done and surgical approaches were discussed.

RESULTS: The length of anterior (ventral) rami of C5-T1 are in decreasing order such as C5 > C6 > C7 > C8 > T1 and the width of them is in decreasing order such as C7 > C8 > C6 > T1 > C5. The length of upper trunk (UT) , middle trunk (MT) and lower trunk (LT) are approximately similar (UT≈MT≈ LT) , but the width is in decreasing order as LT > UT > MT. The length of the cords are in decreasing order as posterior cord (PC) >lateral cord (LC) >medial cord (MC), whereas their widths are PC>LC>MC .

CONCLUSION: From the ventral rami to the cords, BP has a complex and variable anatomic structure. The selection of surgical procedure to the BP needs to be mastered by having the best knowledge of the relevant anatomy. Keywords : Brachial plexus, Anatomy, Surgery

Corresponding author : İlker Solmaz, solmazilker@hotmail.com