Abstract
There are 31 pairs of spinal nerves: eight cervical, 12 thoracic, five lumbar, five
sacral and one coccygeal. They form by fusion of a posterior sensory spinal root (bearing
its posterior root ganglion) with an anterior motor root. These join at each intervertebral
foramen. Typically, the nerve then divides into a posterior and an anterior primary
ramus. The former supplies the vertebral muscles and dorsal skin. The anterior primary
ramus in the thoracic region bears a white ramus communicans to the sympathetic ganglion.
Each spinal nerve receives a grey ramus from the sympathetic chain. The nerves T2–T12
supply the skin and muscles of the trunk sequentially. The other nerves are arranged
into the cervical, brachial, lumbar and sacral plexuses. The cervical plexus supplies
the skin and anterior muscles of the neck and form the phrenic nerve (C3–C5), while
the brachial plexus supplies the skin and muscles of the upper limb, and the lumbar
and sacral plexuses supply the skin of the lower limb and perineum and the muscles
of the posterior abdominal wall, pelvis, perineum and lower limb. The segmental nerves
are arranged to supply the skin (dermatomes), while the segmental supply to the limb
muscles, the myotomes, is more complex.
Keywords
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Article Info
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Copyright
© 2009 Published by Elsevier Inc.
