VCOM Louisiana Research Day Program Book 2024

Results: The three cords and five main branches of each brachial plexus sample were identified; however, the ulnar nerve and median nerve were severed in one sample and the lateral root was severed in another sample. Of the observable brachial plexuses, 42 contained at least one variation among its infraclavicular portion. The remaining five cadavers had no identifiable variations in the infraclavicular brachial plexus. Of the 25 cadavers with variations present, nine were present unilaterally and 16 were present bilaterally. The quantity of variations documented, and the frequency of those variations can be found in Table 2. The lateral cord contributing multiple roots to the median nerve occurred in 22 brachial plexus samples across 19 cadavers. This variation was present unilaterally in 16 cadavers and bilaterally in three. The medial cord contributing multiple roots to the median nerve occurred in three samples, all unilaterally. The posterior cord and its branches were involved in 20 of the documented variations, with the subscapular nerves most commonly involved. One or more unspecified subscapular nerves were found to be branching from the axillary nerve in eight samples across seven cadavers, six unilaterally and one bilaterally (Figure 4). Conclusions: In this study, 70% of the brachial plexus samples were found to have variations when compared to a standard text [8]. This rate is significantly higher than the majority of current literature[SN1] , which ranges from less than 50% up to 65% displaying significant variations [3, 9, 10, 11]. The brachial plexus is a complex network that can develop with a wide array of

varying presentations. In this study of 60 brachial plexus samples across 30 cadavers, variations were documented in the majority of cases. Documenting the possible variations and learning more about their origin and consequences can be useful in improving medical education, clinical practices, and surgical and anesthetic procedures. The supraclavicular brachial plexus of the cadavers used in this study have not been dissected yet. This will be resolved in the continuation of this study in which the supraclavicular brachial plexus will be documented and analyzed. Arteries and veins were not evaluated in this study. The development of the brachial plexus relies heavily on spatial relationships with the arterial system [6].

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