The innervation of the biceps brachii and brachialis muscles in specimens with a high incidence of an accessory biceps head

Abstract

We describe the patterns of motor branches to the elbow flexors in 106 fresh-frozen cadaveric upper extremities from 53 donors of the Latin American mestizo race. We identified a 20% incidence of an accessory biceps head. The innervation patterns to this accessory head were specifically described and added to the Yang classification as Type IV for the biceps and Type III for the brachialis. The patterns arising from the musculocutaneous nerve to the biceps brachii were of Type I in 69%, Type II in 9%, Type III in 7% and Type IV in 11%, and to the brachialis of Type I in 77%, Type II in 11% and Type III in 9%. In 4%, the branches did not originate from the musculocutaneous nerve. We hypothesize that the branch to the accessory biceps head might be considered as a donor for nerve transfer in selected brachial plexus injuries.