Abstract

Background: The location of the axillary nerve from various bony landmarks has been described in the literature. Such descriptions can assist the surgeon to avoid iatrogenic injury to this nerve during deltoid splitting approaches to the shoulder and proximal humerus. Objective: To investigate the relationship between the axillary nerve and arm length in a cadaveric adult Kenyan population. Methods: The distance of the axillary nerve from important bony landmarks such as the anterior and posterior edges of the acromion, and the lateral epicondyle of the humerus were measured and recorded. Results: A total of fifty-one formalin prefixed left adult upper limbs were studied. The average distance of the nerve from the anterior and posterior edges of the acromion (AEA and PEA respectively) were 6.46cm (range 5.15-8.68cm) and 5.88cm (range 4.42-9.99cm) respectively.