Anatomy of the median nerve and its clinical applications.

The median nerve is a mixed, somatomotor and somatosensitive nerve. It is classically described as the nerve of pronation, flexion of the thumb, index and middle finger and wrist (except ulnar deviation), of the antepulsion and opposition of the thumb, as well as that of the sensitivity of the palmar aspect of the first three fingers. It takes its name from its middle position both at the end of the brachial plexus but also at the forearm. During its course from its origin from the brachial plexus to its terminal branches, it runs in narrowed passage in which it is at risk of being compressed, such as the carpal tunnel or the pronator teres. The objective of this work is to present a synthesis of knowledge on the anatomy of the median nerve: anatomical variations (branches, median-ulnar communicating branches), fascicular microanatomy, vascularization, anatomy of compression sites, embryology, ultrasonographic anatomy. Throughout this work, a link is made between anatomy and clinical, surgical or diagnostic applications.