Mnemonics: Upper Limb

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Serratus Anterior: Nerve vs. Blood

LoNg thoracic: Nerve
LAteral thoracic: Artery

Flexor Digitorum Muscles: How they Insert Onto Fingers

· A little rhyme:
Superficialis Splits in two,
To Permit Profundus Passing through.

Interossei Muscles: Actions of Dorsal vs. Palmar in Hand

"PAd and DAb":
The Palmar Adduct and the Dorsal Abduct.
· Use your hand to dab with a pad.

Carpal Bones
"Senior Lecturers Try Positions That They Can't Handle":
· Proximal row then distal row, both lateral-to-medial:
Scaphoid
Lunate
Triquetrium
Pisiform
Trapezium
Trapezoid
Capate
Hamate

Brachial Artery: Recurrent and Collateral Branches

"I Am Pretty Smart"
Inferior ulnar collateral artery goes with Anterior ulnar recurrent
artery.
Posterior ulnar recurrent artery goes with Superior ulnar collateral
artery.

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Axillary Artery Branches
"Screw The Lawyer Save A Patient":
Superior thoracic
Thoracoacromiol
Lateral thoracic
Subscapular
Anterior circumflex humeral
Posterior circumflex humeral
Alternatively: "Some Times Life Seems A Pain".
"Send The Lord to Say A Prayer"

Cubital Fossa Contents

"Really Need Beans To Be At My Nicest":
· From lateral to medial:
Radial Nerve
Biceps Tendon
Brachial Artery
Median Nerve

Serratus Anterior: Innervation

SALT:
Serratus Anterior = Long Thoracic.

Rotator Cuff Muscles

"The SITS muscles":
· Clockwise from top:
Supraspinatus
Infraspinatus
Teres minor
Subscapularis
· A pro baseball pitcher has injured his
rotator cuff muscles. As a result, he SITS
out for the rest of the game, and then
gets sent to the minor leagues.

Radial Nerve: Muscles Innervated

"Try A Big Chocolate Chip Sundae, Double Dip Cherries And
Peanuts Preferably Included":
· In order of their innervation, proximal to distal:
Triceps
Anconeus
Brachioradialis
ext. Carpi radialis longus
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 ext. Carpi radialis brevis
Supinator
ext. Digitorum
ext.Digiti minimi
ext. Carpi ulnaris
Abductor poll. longus
ext. Poll. brevis
ext. P poll. longus
ext. Indicis
· For the neighboring words that start with the same letter (eg:
chocolate and chip), notice that the longer word in the
mnemonic, corresponds to the longer of the two muscle names
(ex: ext. carpi radialis longus and ext. carpi radialis brevis)

Supination vs. Pronation

"SOUPination": Supination is to turn your arm palm up, as if you
are holding a bowl of soup.
"POUR-nation": Pronation is to turn your arm with the palm
down, as if you are pouring out whatever is your bowl.
· Alternatively, Pronation donation: Pronation is palm facing
downward, as if making a donation.

Anterior Forearm Muscles: Superficial Group

There are five, like five digits of your
hand.
Place your thumb into your palm, then lay
that hand palm down on your other arm,
as shown in diagram.
Your 4 fingers now show distribution:
spells PFPF [pass/fail, pass/fail]:
Pronator teres
Flexor carpi radialis
Palmaris longus
Flexor carpi ulnaris
Your thumb below your 4 fingers shows the muscle which is deep
to the other four: Flexor digitorum superficialis.

Median Nerve: Hand Muscles Innervated

"The LOAF muscles":
Lumbricals 1 and 2
Opponens pollicis
Abductor pollicis brevis
Flexor pollicis brevis
· Alternatively: LLOAF, with 2 L's, to recall there's 2 lumbricals.
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 · To remember that these are the Median nerve muscles, think
"Meat LOAF".

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Causes

MEDIAN TRAP:
Myxoedema
Edema premenstrually
Diabetes
Idiopathic
Agromegaly
Neoplasm
Trauma
Rheumatoid arthritis
Amyloidosis
Pregnancy
· Mnemonic fits nicely since median nerve is trapped.

TRAMP:
Trauma (occupational)
Rheumatiod arthritis
Acromegaly
Myxoedema
Pregnancy
· Alternatively: ARMPIT to include Idiopathic.

Brachioradialis: Function, Innervation, 1 Relation, 1 Attachment

BrachioRadialis:
Function: Its the Beer Raising muscle, flexes elbow, strongest
when wrist is oriented like holding a beer.
Innervation: Breaks Rule: it's a flexor muscle, But Radial. (Radial
nerve usually is for extensors: Recall BEST rule: B was for
brachioradialis).
Important relation: Behind it is the Radial nerve in the cubital
fossa.
Attachment: Attaches to Bottom of Radius.

Elbow: Muscles that Flex It

Three B's Bend the elBow:
Brachialis
Biceps
Brachioradialis

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Arm Fractures: Nerves Affected by Humerus Fracture Location
ARM fracture:
· From superior to inferior:
Axillary: head of humerus
Radial: mid shaft
Median: supracondular

Lumbricals Action
Lumbrical action is to hold a pea, that is to
flex the metacarpophalangeal joint and extend
the interphalangeal joints. When look at hand
in this position, can see this makes an "L"
shape, since L is for Lumbrical.

Radial Nerve: Muscles Supplied (Simplified)

"BEST muscles":
Brachioradialis
Extensors
Supinator
Triceps

Thoracoacromial Trunk: Branches

"Cadavers Are Dead People":
Clavicular
Acromial
Deltoid
Pectoral

Interossei Muscles: Number of Palmars vs. Dorsals

"3 on the P, 4 on the Dor":
There are 3 Palmar, and 4 Dorsal interossei.

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Brachial Plexus Subunits
"Randy Travis Drinks Cold Blood":
Roots
Trunks
Divisions
Cords
Branches

Serratus Anterior: Innervation & Action

"C5-6-7 raise your wings up to heaven":
C567 injury causes inability to raise arm past 90 degrees up to
heaven, and results in a winging of the scapula.
· Long thoracic nerve roots (567) innervate Serratus anterior.

Brachial Plexus: Branches of Posterior Cord

STAR:
Subscapular [upper and lower]
Thoracodorsal
Axillary
Radial

Dermatome C6 Location
Stick arm out like crucifixion stance. Curl your
thumb and forefinger into an "OK" symbol while
keeping your other fingers straight.
Your hand should now look like a 6 shape.
So C6 dermatome is your thumb and top of arm
(reason for crucifix stance).

Bicipital Groove: Attachments of Muscles Near It

"The lady between two majors":
Teres major attaches to medial lip of groove.
Pectoralis major to lateral lip of groove.
Latissimus (Lady) is on floor of groove, between the 2 majors.

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Intrinsic Muscles of Hand (Palmar Surface)
"A OF A OF A":
· Thenar, lateral to medial:
Abductor pollicis longus
Opponens pollicis
Flexor pollicis brevis
Adductor pollicis.
· Hypothenar, lateral to medial:
Opponens digiti minimi
Flexor digiti minimi
Abductor digiti minimi

Palmaris Longus: Location, Relative to Wrist Nerves

"The Palmaris between two Palmars":
Palmaris longus is between the Palmar
cutaneous branch of Ulnar nerve and
Palmar cutaneous branch of Median
nerve.

Musculocutaneous Nerve: Muscles Supplied

BBC:
Biceps brachii
Brachialis
Coracobrachialis

Biceps Brachii Muscle: Origins

"You walk shorter to a street corner. You ride longer on a
superhighway.":
· Short head originates from coracoid process.
· Long head originates from the supraglenoid cavity.

Brachial Artery is Medial to Biceps Tendon

"BAMBI":
Brachial Artery is Medial to Biceps In elbow.

Dermatome C7 Location
C7 gives the finger to heaven (as in middle finger).
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 Subclavian Artery Branches
"Very Tired Individuals Sip Strong Coffee Served Daily":
Vertebral artery
Thyrocervical trunk
---Inferior thyroid
---Superficial cervical
---Suprascapular
Costocervical
---Superior intercostal
---Deep cervical

Median and Ulnar Nerves: Common Features

Each supply 1/2 of flexor digitorum profundus.
Each supplies 2 lumbricals.
Each has a palmar cutaneous nerve that pops off prematurely.
Each supplies an eminence group of muscles [ulnar: hypothenar.
median: thenar].
Each enters forearm through two heads [ulnar: heads of flexor
carpi ulnaris. median: heads of pronator teres].
Each has no branches in upper arm.
Each makes two fingers claw when cut at wrist.
Each supplies a palmaris [median: palmaris longus. ulnar:
palmaris brevis].

Elbow Joint: Radius vs Ulna Ends

CRAzy TULips:
Capitalum = RAdius
Trochlear = ULnar
s

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