Pronator syndrome involves entrapment of which nerve?

Study for the NBCOT Hand Injuries and Intervention Test. Prepare with flashcards and multiple choice questions, each question offers hints and explanations. Get ready for success!

Multiple Choice

Pronator syndrome involves entrapment of which nerve?

Pronator syndrome occurs when the median nerve is compressed as it passes between the two heads of the pronator teres in the proximal forearm. This location explains forearm pain and sensory changes along the median nerve distribution, often worsened with resisted forearm pronation and elbow flexion. The other nerves described don’t fit this pattern: the radial nerve is involved in more distal forearm or wrist issues, the ulnar nerve is typically compressed at the elbow or Guyon canal, and the musculocutaneous nerve affects forearm flexors in the arm with sensation over the lateral forearm, not the pronator region. Thus, the nerve involved is the median nerve at the elbow between the heads of the pronator teres.

Pronator syndrome occurs when the median nerve is compressed as it passes between the two heads of the pronator teres in the proximal forearm. This location explains forearm pain and sensory changes along the median nerve distribution, often worsened with resisted forearm pronation and elbow flexion. The other nerves described don’t fit this pattern: the radial nerve is involved in more distal forearm or wrist issues, the ulnar nerve is typically compressed at the elbow or Guyon canal, and the musculocutaneous nerve affects forearm flexors in the arm with sensation over the lateral forearm, not the pronator region. Thus, the nerve involved is the median nerve at the elbow between the heads of the pronator teres.

More practice questions