Abstract
Purpose
Variations of the phrenic nerve gain importance in the context of subclavian vein cannulation, implanted venous access portals and supraclavicular nerve block for regional anaesthesia. Some of the variations of phrenic nerve are very common and may have implications even while performing very simple and routine procedures.
Methods
During routine dissection in the Department of Anatomy, an anatomical variation was observed in the course of the phrenic nerve in an adult male cadaver.
Results
On the right side, phrenic nerve in its early course in the neck, close to its origin was giving a communicating branch to the upper trunk of the brachial plexus. Further course of the phrenic nerve was typical. On the left side, no such communication between phrenic nerve and brachial plexus was observed.
Conclusions
A thorough knowledge of the anatomical variations and standard anatomy of phrenic nerve is a necessity for the safe and efficient practice of regional anaesthesia.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aktan ZA, Ozturk L, Bilge O, Ozer MA, Pinar YA (2001) A cadaveric study of the anatomic variations of the brachial plexus nerves in the axillar region and arm. Turk J Med Sci 31:147–150
Anson BJ (1988) Morris’ human anatomy, 12th edn. McGraw Hill, New York. (P.1059)
Bigeleisen PE (2003) Anatomical variations of the phrenic nerve and its clinical implication for supraclavicular block. Br J Anaesth 91:916–917
Hollinshead WH (1982) Anatomy for surgeons. The head and neck, 3rd edn. Harper and Row Publishers, New York, pp 496–498
Latarjet A (1948) Testut’s Traité d’Anatomie Humaine. 9th Edition, Paris: G. Doin and Cie. Cited by: Tubbs RS, Shoja MM, Loukas M (2016) Bergman’s encyclopedia of human anatomic variation. New Jersey: Wiley Blackwell. pp 1062–1066
Madhyastha S, Bhat SM (2006) Anomalous phrenic nerve—a case report. Neuroanatomy 5:47–49
Mendelsohn AH, Deconde A, Lambert HW, Dodson SC, Daney BT, Stark ME, Berke GS, Wisco JJ (2011) Cervical variations of the phrenic nerve. Laryngoscope 121(9):1920–1923
Prates AG Jr, Vasques LC, Bordoni LS (2015) Anatomical variations of the phrenic nerve: an actualized review. J Morphol Sci 32:53–56
Porzionato A, Montisci M, Manani G (2003) Brachial plexus injury following subclavian vein catheterization: a case report. J Clin Anesth 15:582–586
Standring S (2008) Neck. In: Gray’s anatomy. 40th edn. Churchill Livingstone, London, p 460
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. The authors also declare that the study complies with the current law in the country.
Ethical approval
This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Goyal, N., Jain, A. Variant communication of phrenic nerve in neck. Surg Radiol Anat 41, 151–152 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-018-2123-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-018-2123-0