1Associate Professor, Maharishi Markandeshwar Medical College & Hospital, Solan, Himachal Pradesh
2Professor, Govt. Medical College, Amritsar, Punjab
3Professor & HOD, Dept. of Anatomy, Govt. Medical College, Patiala, Punjab
*Corresponding Author: Neelamjit Kaur, Associate Professor, Dept. of Anatomy, Maharishi Markandeshwar Medical College & Hospital, Solan, Himachal Pradesh. Email: neelamjit@yahoo.co.in
Online published on 25 May, 2017.
During evolution from lower animals to higher animals the hand has undergone a great revolution. Lumbricals of the hand produce flexion at metacarpophalangeal joint and extension at the interphalangeal joint thus helping in performance of precise work.
The present study was conducted on 60 upper limbs of 30 well embalmed adult human cadavers at the Government Medical College, Amritsar. The whole course of the median and ulnar nerve and its branches in hand was traced.
Aim was to study the nerve supply of different lumbricals of hand.
In the present study, variations from the normal pattern were found in the innervation of lumbricals. Besides the first two lumbricals, median nerve was innervating the third lumbrical in 3(5%) hands. Second lumbrical was supplied by two branches from median nerve in 2(3.3%) hands. We also found berretini communications between median and ulnar nerves in 6(10%) hands but it has been described earlier by the same authors in a different article.
The variation in innervation of lumbricals in hand and their incidence will aid the surgeon in avoiding iatrogenic complications and improve the success rate of surgeries performed on hand.
Hand, Lumbricals, Median nerve, Ulnar nerve, Innervation
