title: Distribution of the axillary nerve to the subacromial bursa and the area around the long head of the biceps tendon.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Patients with a shoulder disorder often complain of pain on the anterior or lateral aspect of the shoulder. Such pain has been thought to originate from the suprascapular nerve. However, taking into consideration the distinctive course of the axillary nerve, the axillary nerve is likely to supply branches to the structure around the shoulder joint. This study was conducted to clarify the division, course, and distribution of the branches which originate from the axillary nerve and innervate structures around the shoulder joint.
  
  
  METHODS
  The division, course, and distribution of the branches which originate from the axillary nerve and innervate structures around the shoulder joint were examined macroscopically by dissecting 20 shoulders of 10 adult Japanese cadavers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The thin branches from the anterior branch of the axillary nerve were distributed to the subacromial bursa and the area around the long head of the biceps tendon. The branches from the main trunk of the axillary nerve or the branch to the teres minor muscle were distributed to the infero-posterior part of the shoulder joint.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The pain on the anterior or lateral aspect of the shoulder, which has been thought to originate from the suprascapular nerve, might be related to the thin branches which originate from the axillary nerve and innervate the subacromial bursa and the area around the long head of the biceps tendon.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results would be useful to consider the cause of the shoulder pain or to prevent the residual pain after the biceps tenodesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Anatomy, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8510, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nasu
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nimura
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Akita
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001365:Axilla / Q000294:innervation*; D002061:Bursa, Synovial / Q000294:innervation*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012785:Shoulder Joint / Q000294:innervation*; D013710:Tendons / Q000294:innervation*