Axillary nerve
Nervus axillaris
NervousNervesArmLeft and right
View left in 3D View right in 3D
- What it is
- A short branch of the posterior cord that leaves the armpit backwards through the quadrangular space, with the posterior circumflex humeral artery, and winds around the surgical neck of the humerus beneath the deltoid.
- Function
- Motor to deltoid and teres minor; sensation from the "regimental badge" patch of skin over the lower deltoid.
- Size
- About 3 mm thick; ~10 cm long
- Clinical note
- Injured by a dislocated shoulder or a fracture of the surgical neck of the humerus: the deltoid wastes, lifting the arm sideways is weak and the badge area goes numb.