Nerve Supply

• The Axillary Nerve:

  1. Arises from the ventral rami of C5 and C6, the superior trunk (posterior division) and the posterior cord
  2. In the axilla, it passes posterior to the axillary artery and anterior to subscapularis
  3. It passes close to the inferior aspect of the shoulder joint (which it supplies) and through the quadrilateral space
  4. It divides into anterior and posterior branches
  5. It then winds around the surgical neck of the humerus

  
• The Axillary Nerve:

  1. Arises from the ventral rami of C5 and C6, the superior trunk (posterior division) and the posterior cord
  2. In the axilla, it passes posterior to the axillary artery and anterior to subscapularis
  3. It passes close to the inferior aspect of the shoulder joint (which it supplies) and through the quadrilateral space
  4. It divides into anterior and posterior branches
  5. It then winds around the surgical neck of the humerus