Which nerve is commonly injured with midshaft humeral fractures?

Which nerve is commonly injured with midshaft humeral fractures?

• A. Median nerve
• B. Radial nerve
• C. Ulnar nerve
• D. Axillary nerve

Answer: (B)

Midshaft humeral fractures put the radial nerve at risk because it runs in the radial groove along the humerus, right where a break at this level can damage it. When the radial nerve is injured there, you lose the ability to extend the wrist and fingers, leading to a wrist drop, and there is often sensory loss on the dorsum of the hand and dorsal forearm. Other nerves tend to be injured with fractures at different parts of the arm: the axillary nerve with shoulder-area injuries, the ulnar nerve with injuries near the medial elbow, and the median nerve with certain distal injuries. So, the radial nerve is the one most commonly injured with midshaft fractures.

Midshaft humeral fractures put the radial nerve at risk because it runs in the radial groove along the humerus, right where a break at this level can damage it. When the radial nerve is injured there, you lose the ability to extend the wrist and fingers, leading to a wrist drop, and there is often sensory loss on the dorsum of the hand and dorsal forearm. Other nerves tend to be injured with fractures at different parts of the arm: the axillary nerve with shoulder-area injuries, the ulnar nerve with injuries near the medial elbow, and the median nerve with certain distal injuries. So, the radial nerve is the one most commonly injured with midshaft fractures.