A 12 year old, Aswin, presents with a severely damaged nail on his index finger, after accidentally crushing the finger while closing a door. A decision is made to excise the injured nail. In preparation for the procedure, the physician would most likely anesthetize a branch of which of the following nerves?
The median nerve supplies the surface of the lateral palm, the palmar surface of the first three digits and the distal dorsal surface of the index and middle fingers (including the nail beds). Therefore, prior to performing surgery in this area, it is essential to anesthetize a branch of this nerve (possibly a proper digital branch) to eliminate pain sensation around the nail bed of the index finger.Neither the anterior interosseous nor the musculocutaneous nerves supplies the hand. The anterior interosseous nerve supplies the flexor pollicis longus, the lateral half of flexor digitorum profundus, and pronator quadratus. The musculocutaneous nerve supplies the coracobrachialis, biceps, and most of the brachialis muscle, then becomes the lateral cutaneous nerve of the forearm. The radial nerve supplies skin on the radial side of the dorsal surface of the hand, but not the fingeips.
Anterior interosseous nerve
Median nerve
Musculocutaneous nerve
Radial nerve