Superficial Structures and Cutaneous Innervation of the Upper Limb

Vocabulary flashcards covering the fascia, superficial venous drainage, and cutaneous innervation of the upper limb.

Superficial fascia

A layer of loose connective tissue and fat lying deep to the skin that is pierced by cutaneous nerves and superficial veins.

Deep fascia

A white glistening layer of dense, well-organized connective tissue without fat that surrounds all the muscles of the upper limb.

Brachial fascia

The deep fascia enclosing the musculature of the arm, continuous superiorly with the deltoid, pectoral, and axillary fasciae, and inferiorly with the antebrachial fascia.

Antebrachial fascia

The deep fascia that surrounds the musculature of the forearm.

Medial and lateral intermuscular septa

Deep fascia extensions that pass into the arm and attach to the humerus, dividing the arm into anterior and posterior compartments.

Cephalic vein

A superficial vein arising from the lateral dorsal network of the hand that ascends the anterolateral aspect of the forearm and arm to join the axillary vein.

Basilic vein

A superficial vein arising from the medial dorsal network of the hand that ascends the medial forearm and arm, pierces the brachial fascia, and unites with the deep brachial vein to form the axillary vein.

Median cubital vein

A communicating vein located directly anterior to the elbow joint that connects the cephalic vein to the basilic vein, serving as a primary site for venipuncture.

Dermatome

A specific area of the skin that receives sensory spinal nerve fibers from a single specific spinal cord segment.

Brachial plexus

A network of nerves originating from spinal cord segments C5, C6, C7, C8, and T1 that gives rise to the named cutaneous nerves supplying the upper limb.