COMMUNICATING RAMUS FROM LATERAL ROOT OF MEDIAN NERVE TO ULNAR NERVE AND FUSION OF MUSCULOCUTANEOUS NERVE & MEDIAN NERVE- A CONJUNCTION OR CO-INCIDENCE?

Background: The brachial plexus has a complex anatomical structure since its origin in the neck throughout its course in the axillary region. It also has close relationship to important anatomic structures what makes it an easy target of a sort of variations and provides its clinical and surgical importance. The presence of communicating branches between the terminal branches of the brachial plexus are relatively common & reported by many of the authors but very few studies are there in literature about communicating branch from the lateral root of the median nerve to the ulnar nerve. Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted on 60 upper limbs belonging to 30 cadavers ( Male:Female = 28:02 ), ( Right:Left = 30:30 ) obtained from Department of Anatomy. Observations: Communicating branch from the lateral root of the median nerve to the ulnar nerve was seen in 2 limbs (3.33%). These limbs also depicted fusion of musculocutaneous & median nerves. Discussion & Conclusion: Whether this is a conjunction or just a co-incidence, remains to be verified on a larger database. However the existence of communicating branches may be of importance in the evaluation of unexplained sensory loss after trauma or surgical intervention in a particular area. Further ontogeny & phylogeny of the variant patterns are discussed.