T8 spinal nerve

Nervus spinalis T8

NervousNervesThoraxLeft and right

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What it is
The T8 spinal nerve leaves the spinal canal between T8 and T9. Its sensory (dorsal) and motor (ventral) roots meet just beyond the dorsal root ganglion; the short mixed nerve then splits into a small dorsal ramus for the back muscles and skin and a larger ventral ramus, which becomes the 8th intercostal nerve.
Function
Carries motor fibres to the muscles of its segment (myotome) and sensation back from its strip of skin (dermatome): a band of skin just below the rib margin.
Size
About 2-3 mm thick; the mixed nerve is only ~1 cm long before it divides
Clinical note
T7-T9 supply the upper abdominal wall; the upper abdominal reflex tests these segments.

Nearby nervous structures 6th intercostal nerve, T10 spinal nerve, T11 spinal nerve, T12 spinal nerve, T4 spinal nerve, T5 spinal nerve, T6 dorsal root ganglion, T6 spinal nerve, T7 spinal nerve, T9 spinal nerve