Figure 11-4
The accident.

A 20 year old woman came into the clinic complaining she could not abduct her right upper limb. She held her arm limply at her side. The humerus appeared to be medially rotated while the forearm and hand were pronated. Two weeks earlier she had been thrown from her horse and landed on her shoulder and the side of her neck. She remembers a very sore neck shortly after the accident. Upon examination, she could not flex, abduct or laterally rotate her arm. In addition, there was a loss of flexion of the elbow joint and lack of sensation on the lateral surface of her arm and forearm.

QUESTIONS

1. What muscles appear to be paralyzed?
2. What is their motor nerve supply?
3. What is their segmental nerve supply?
4. What part of the nerve supply to the upper limb do you suspect is injured?
5. Confirm your diagnosis using her loss of cutaneous innervation on the arm and forearm.