7th intercostal nerve

Nervus intercostalis VII

NervousNervesThoraxLeft and right

View left in 3D View right in 3D

What it is
The ventral ramus of the 7th thoracic nerve. It runs round the chest in the costal groove on the underside of the 7th rib, between the internal and innermost intercostal muscles and below the intercostal vein and artery, then leaves the costal margin to run forward between the internal oblique and transversus abdominis to the rectus sheath.
Function
Motor to the intercostal muscles and the anterior abdominal wall; sensation from a band of skin (lateral and anterior cutaneous branches) and from the parietal pleura and peritoneum.
Size
About 2-3 mm thick; 31-36 cm long
Clinical note
The seventh to eleventh nerves continue into the abdominal wall (thoracoabdominal nerves), so lower-lobe pneumonia can present as abdominal pain.

Nearby nervous structures 2nd intercostal nerve, 3rd intercostal nerve, 4th intercostal nerve, 5th intercostal nerve, 6th intercostal nerve, 8th intercostal nerve, T10 spinal nerve, T11 spinal nerve, T8 spinal nerve, T9 spinal nerve