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Chapter 11 - Examination of the Brachial Plexus

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 April 2022

By
Fazal Ali ,
Joe Garcia ,
Armughan Azhar  and
Simon Kay
Edited by
Fazal Ali  and
Nick Harris
Fazal Ali
Affiliation:
Chesterfield Royal Hospital
Nick Harris
Affiliation:
Spire Hospital, Leeds
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Summary

Brachial plexus examination is described in a simple manner for this difficult topic. A drawing of the brachial plexus is included, which is essential knowledge for learning to examine the brachial plexus. The system is: look, feel, move.

Inspection includes looking for Horner’s syndrome, which may indicate a preganglionic lesion. Palpation is for the presence of the pulse, sweating and the sensory testing. Motor testing is in a sequential manner whereby the examiner tests the myotomes, the muscles supplied by the branches off the roots, the muscles supplied by the branches off the trunks, the muscles supplied by the branches off the cords and then the terminal branches of the brachial plexus.

Included in the chapter is a section on how clinical examination findings influence treatment and also a section on the obstetric brachial plexus.

Keywords

brachialplexuspreganglionicpostganglionicHorner'sroottrunkcord
Type
Chapter
Information
Orthopaedic Examination Techniques
A Practical Guide
 , pp. 193 - 212
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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References

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