Thoraco-abdominal nerves

Thoraco-abdominal nerves
Thoraco-abdominal nerves
	Diagram of the course and branches of a typical intercostal nerve.
	Intercostal nerves, the superficial muscles having been removed.
Innervates	Rectus abdominis muscle
	Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy [edit on Wikidata]

The anterior divisions of the seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, and eleventh thoracic intercostal nerves are continued anteriorly from the intercostal spaces into the abdominal wall; hence they are named thoraco-abdominal nerves (or thoracicoabdominal intercostal nerves).

They have the same arrangement as the upper ones as far as the anterior ends of the intercostal spaces, where they pass behind the costal cartilages, and between the Obliquus internus and Transversus abdominis, to the sheath of the Rectus abdominis, which they perforate.

They supply the Rectus abdominis and end as the anterior cutaneous branches of the abdomen; they supply the skin of the front of the abdomen.

The lower intercostal nerves supply the Intercostales and abdominal muscles; the last three send branches to the Serratus posterior inferior. About the middle of their course they give off lateral cutaneous branches.

These pierce the Intercostales externi and the Obliquus externus abdominis, in the same line as the lateral cutaneous branches of the upper thoracic nerves, and divide into anterior and posterior branches, which are distributed to the skin of the abdomen and back; the anterior branches supply the digitations of the Obliquus externus abdominis, and extend downward and forward nearly as far as the margin of the Rectus abdominis; the posterior branches pass backward to supply the skin over the Latissimus dorsi.

External links

Anatomy photo:35:04-0100 at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center - "Anterior Abdominal Wall: Thoracoabdominal Nerves"
Anatomy image:7103 at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center
Anatomy image:7218 at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center
Anatomy image:7558 at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center
anterior cutaneous branch
- Anatomy image:7267 at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center
- Anatomy image:7502 at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center
lateral cutaneous branch
- Anatomy image:7044 at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center
- Anatomy image:7419 at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center

v t e Spinal nerves
Cervical	C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 anterior Cervical plexus Brachial plexus posterior Posterior branches of cervical nerves Suboccipital – C1 Greater occipital – C2 Third occipital – C3
Thoracic	T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 T8 T9 T10 T11 T12 anterior Intercostal Intercostobrachial – T2 Thoraco-abdominal nerves – T7–T11 Subcostal – T12 posterior Posterior branches of thoracic nerves
Lumbar	L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 anterior Lumbar plexus Lumbosacral trunk posterior Posterior branches of the lumbar nerves Superior cluneal L1–L3
Sacral	S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 anterior Sacral plexus posterior Posterior branches of sacral nerves Medial cluneal nerves
Coccygeal	anterior Coccygeal plexus posterior Posterior branch of coccygeal nerve