5th intercostal nerve

Nervus intercostalis V

NervousNervesThoraxLeft and right

View left in 3D View right in 3D

What it is
The ventral ramus of the 5th thoracic nerve. It runs round the chest in the costal groove on the underside of the 5th rib, between the internal and innermost intercostal muscles and below the intercostal vein and artery, ending beside the sternum as an anterior cutaneous branch.
Function
Motor to the intercostal muscles; sensation from a band of skin (lateral and anterior cutaneous branches) and from the parietal pleura.
Size
About 2-3 mm thick; 29-34 cm long
Clinical note
Chest drains are pushed in just ABOVE a rib so that the needle misses this nerve and its vessels in the groove below the rib above.

Nearby nervous structures 1st intercostal nerve, 2nd intercostal nerve, 3rd intercostal nerve, 4th intercostal nerve, 6th intercostal nerve, 7th intercostal nerve, 8th intercostal nerve, T6 dorsal root ganglion, T6 spinal nerve, T7 spinal nerve