A Cadaveric Investigation of the Dorsal Scapular Nerve

Nguyen, Vuvi H.; Liu, Hao Howe; Rosales, Armando; Reeves, Rustin

doi:10.1155/2016/4106981

Cited by 12 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…This has classically been attributed to the C5 nerve. A more recent cadaveric investigation of the dorsal scapular nerve has identifi ed the cutaneous sensory location of the dorsal scapular nerve, which arises from C5 in 70%, C4 in 22%, and C6 in 8% of individuals, where it innervates only the levator scapulae muscle in 48% of individuals and innervates the levator scapulae muscle, rhomboid major and rhomboid minor muscles in 52 % of individuals [12]. The C6 level is a minor contributor with only an 8% incidence and the C7 level is never involved.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Referred scapula pain from C6 or C7 cervical spinal stenosis

Willeford¹,

Willeford²

2019

Open J Pain Med

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Referred scapula pain from C6 or C7 cervical spinal stenosis

Willeford¹,

Willeford²

2019

Open J Pain Med

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“…We examined DSN path around the MSM in detail and classified DSN paths into 3 types: piercing- (penetrating the MSM), anterior- (running in front of the MSM), and posterior-types (running behind the MSM). Table 1 shows [7,9,10] previous case reports on DSN variants. Tubbs et al [9] surveyed the dissection of DSN in American cadavers from a surgical point of view.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Tubbs et al [9] surveyed the dissection of DSN in American cadavers from a surgical point of view. Nguyen et al [7] surveyed the anatomy of DSN and studied its oblique course with regards to the MSM. Izumi et al [10] surveyed the dissection of DSN in Japanese cadavers to investigate the cause of thoracic outlet syndrome.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Generally, DSN originates from the fifth or fourth cervical spinal nerve and, after piercing the MSM, innervates the rhomboid major and minor muscles and the levator scapulae. Nguyen et al [7] reported 3 types of DSN paths to the MSM: 1 piercing the MSM, 1 traveling anterior to the MSM, and 1 traveling posterior to the MSM. When creating an MSM block, the needle may injure DSN if the patient's DSN travels anterior to the MSM because the nerve is then exposed on the surface of the muscle.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[8] To avoid unnecessary BP block complications, knowledge regarding the dissection of the MSM and regarding possible DSN variants is imperative. To the best of our knowledge, [7,9,10] anatomical variations in DSN paths around the MSM have not been adequately reported in Japan. Thus, we conducted a cadaveric study to investigate anatomical variations in DSN paths around the MSM in Japanese population.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Anatomical variants of dorsal scapular nerve in relation to the middle scalene muscle in Japanese population

Tetsu¹,

Terayama²,

Qu³

et al. 2018

Medicine

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Dorsal scapular nerve (DSN) block is often performed in Japanese pain clinics to treat neck pain and katakori (a unique symptom in Japanese population characterized by myofascial pain syndromes such as shoulder girdle pain). However, to the best of our knowledge, there are only a few studies regarding anatomical variations in DSN paths around the middle scalene muscle (MSM) in Japanese population. Thus, we conducted a cadaveric study to examine anatomical variations in DSN paths around the MSM in Japanese population. DSN anatomies of 70 adult Japanese cadavers used for research and gross anatomy practice at the Tokai University School of Medicine between 2015 and 2016 were examined. In all cadavers, DSNs originated from the brachial plexus (BP) and innervated the rhomboid major, rhomboid minor, and levator scapulae muscles via the MSM. Two types of DSN paths were observed: piercing-type (piercing the MSM) and anterior-type (running in front of the MSM). We surveyed all 140 sides in 70 Japanese cadavers; of these, 95 sides had piercing-type and 45 had anterior-type paths. Of the 70 cadavers, 42 had piercing-type and 17 had anterior-type paths on both the sides. In 9 cadavers, the left and right sides had piercing-type and anterior-type paths, respectively. In the other 2 cadavers, the right and left sides had piercing-type and anterior-type paths, respectively. We found 2 distinct anatomical variants for DSN paths around the MSM in this Japanese cohort. Our results suggest that the rate of anterior-type DSN path is higher in Japanese population. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain caution while injecting anesthetic agents during a DSN block and the type of DSN should be considered.

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Topographic and morphometric anatomy of the proximal part of the dorsal scapular nerve

Çelikgün,

Gayretli,

Gürses

et al. 2023

Clinical Anatomy

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The dorsal scapular nerve (DSN) entrapment neuropathy has recently been recognized as a common cause of circumscapular pain and cases of winged scapula. Course of the nerve is important because the middle scalene muscle is frequently accessed for surgical treatments. Studies in the literature have not focused on the morphometric relationship of the DSN with the scalene muscles and its relationship with the long thoracic nerve (LTN). The neck regions of 13 adult cadavers were dissected bilaterally. The relationship of DSN with scalene muscles and LTN was evaluated. Cervical spinal nerves involved in the formation of the DSN were identified. Three types of DSN were observed based on the cervical spinal nerves from which it originates, five types of DSN from its relationship with the scalene muscles, and two types of DSN from its relationship with the LTN. The distance from where the nerve pierces the scalene muscle to the mastoid process was found to be greater in DSNs originating from C4 and C5 (93.85 ± 4.11 mm, p = 0.033). In DSNs not connected with LTN, the distance from where the nerve pierces the scalene muscle to the superior trunk/C5 (12.74 ± 7.73 mm, p = 0.008) and the length of the nerve within the scalene muscle (14.94 ± 5.5 mm, p = 0.029) were found to be statistically significantly greater. The topographic and morphometric anatomy of the proximal part of the DSN is important, especially for scalene muscles‐focused surgical treatments and interscalene nerve blocks. We believe our results may guide clinical approaches and surgery.

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A Cadaveric Investigation of the Dorsal Scapular Nerve

Cited by 12 publications

References 24 publications

Referred scapula pain from C6 or C7 cervical spinal stenosis

Referred scapula pain from C6 or C7 cervical spinal stenosis

Anatomical variants of dorsal scapular nerve in relation to the middle scalene muscle in Japanese population

Topographic and morphometric anatomy of the proximal part of the dorsal scapular nerve

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