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Brachial Plexus is the most important topic one comes up against in their first year of medical study. This plexus has high importance as the body only has 5 spinal plexuses and this one is the most important One. Here we will discuss the mnemonics for brachial plexus but before that a short overview of what the brachial plexus is.
Overview of Brachial Plexus
The Brachial plexus consists of the spinal nerves of the anterior primary rami of C5, C6, C7, C8, so forth till T1. It also consists of the anterior primary rami of the C4 and T2 nerves. The Plexus extends from the spinal cord, passes through the cervico-axillary canal in the neck, over the first rib then into the armpit.
The plexus’s origin may shift one segment, upward or either downward, that results in a prefixed or postfixed plexus respectively.
- In the prefixed position, the contribution by C4 is larger and that from T2 is usually absent.
- In the postfixed plexus, the contribution by T1 is larger, T2 always present, C4 absent, and C5 is reduced in size.
Not going into more detail as you already know what the brachial plexus is if you are reading this, let us move on to the mnemonics
Mnemonics for Brachial Plexus
You can use the mnemonics
- Rugby Teams Drink Cold Beers
- Re-Take Drinks and See Birds
- Real Teachers Drink Cold Beers
Remember the Drink Cold Beers part and your mind will get the first two words itself.
From proximal to Distal, The brachial plexus consists of:
- R for Roots (C5-T1)
- T for Trunks (Upper, Middle and Lower)
- D for Divisions (Anterior and Posterior from each of the 3 trunks)
- C for Cords (Lateral, Posterior and Medial)
- B for Branches
Branches of the Roots (Rugby)
“She Looks Pretty Sexy & Rude”
- She for the Serratus anterior nerve (C5-C7)
- Looks for Longus Colli (C5-C8)
- Pretty for Phrenic (C4)
- Sexy for Scalene muscles (C5-C8)
- Rude for Rhomboids (C5)
Branches of the Trunks (Teams)
remember “SUB” (from substitutes, which TEAMS make)
- Sub-clavius (C5-C6)
- Suprascapular (C5-C6)
Branches of the Cords
Branches of lateral cord.
“Look Miss Look or LML”
- Look for Lateral pectoral (C5-C7)
- Miss for Musculocutaneous (C5-C7)
- Look for Lateral root of the median (C5-C7)
Branches of Medial Cord
“M4U” or “Most Medical Men Use Morphine”
- Medial Pectoral (C8-T1)
- Medial cutaneous nerve of arm (C8-T1)
- Medial cutaneous nerve of forearm (C8-T1)
- Median root of median (C8-T1)
- Ulnar (C7-T1)
Branches of the Posterior cord
“ULNAR” or “ULTRA”
- U for upper Subscapular (C5-C6)
- L for lower Subscapular (C5-C6)
- N for Nerve to Latissimus dorsi? Thoracodorsal nerve (C6-C8)
- A for Axillary (C5-C6)
- R for Radial (C5-T1)
Do not mistake ULNAR for ulnar nerve, it has nothing to do here.
The five Important nerves of the Brachial Plexus
Laterally to medially
“My Aunty Recognized My Uncle”
- Musculocutaneous
- Axillary
- Radial
- Median
- Ulnar
These are all the mnemonics for brachial plexus. Hope this article helped you in memorizing it and the meantime here are some more mnemonics for you
. This article has some high yield mnemonics for brachial plexus){kind=link}