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May 19, 2013
 

Could this be a Medial antebraquial cutaneous nerve (MACN)?

Dear Ask The Doctor: Hello, I have a quick question. I am a wrestler, 23yo. I do alot of training in the gym, I am gaining a fair amount of m.mass since I am in the bulking phase now. I recently came to around 90kg,stronger than ever,but I noticed something in antecubital area of the right arm. Something I think I identified positively as MACN nerve.Looks like a needle under skin,going through the centre of the antecubital,it's pretty tense under fingers,like wire,and I can not see it unless I supinate the arm completely.I can feel it more easily though. When the light is right, I can also see it splitting in two thin branches just towards lower arm. It does not cause me pain,but I can ''feel'' it when i pull the skin on the lower part of biceps in an attempt to reveal the nerve more,and in supination I sometimes feel it in the lower arm,it can be considered then as a light but sharp pain. Basically it does not bother me,too much. I just wanted to check is it normal,is everything in place in that elbow area etc.. I did not see it there before,although i never trained this hard or had this much muscle on me. I am only afraid of injuring it since it is so revealed,under skin. I am sorry for the poor quality of pictures but they should illustrate it fine.I am pulling the skin to reveal it more. Sorry for my English, Thank you.

Dear Pavle: This is a normal variant that some persons have; it may be more or less superficial. It is a branch of the brachial plexus along with the lateral branch and sometimes may be used as a nerve graft. You just have to be careful and knowing that in your case is superficial so you must avoid activities that may potentially injure it.

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 22 June 2011 )
 
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