Brachial plexus Brachial plexus The brachial plexus is a network of nerves formed by the ventral rami of the lower four cervical nerves and first thoracic nerve (C5, C6, C7, C8, and T1). This plexus extends from the spinal cord, through the cervicoaxillary canal in the neck, over the first rib, and into the armpit. It supplies afferent and efferent nerve fibers to the chest, shoulder, arm and hand. The brachial plexus is divided into five "roots", three "trunks", six "divisions" (three anterior and three posterior), three "cords", and five "branches". There are five "terminal" branches and numerous other "pre-terminal" or "collateral"
Brachial plexus block subjected himself to the supraclavicular block. Later that year, Georg Hirschel (18751963) described a percutaneous approach to the brachial plexus from the axilla. In 1928, Kulenkampff and Persky published their experiences with a thousand blocks without apparent major complications. They described their technique with the patient in the sitting position or in the supine position with a pillow between the shoulders. The needle was inserted above the midpoint of the clavicle where the pulse of the subclavian artery could be felt and it was directed medially toward the second or third thoracic spinous process. By the late 1940s, clinical experience