Funicular localization in partial median nerve injury at the wrists.

The funiculi of the median nerve at the wrist carrying the motor and sensory fibers innervating the hand were described in 1945 by Sunderland after an extensive anatomic study. In an attempt to confirm clinically the findings of that study, 7 patients with partial median nerve laceration at the wrist are presented. The findings in these patients support the schema developed from Sunderland's study except for the funiculi subserving the 1st and 2nd lumbricals which appear to be more dorsally placed. They also tend to confirm Sunderland's finding that the mixing of nerve fibers from different funiculi and the formation of intraneural plexuses occur more proximal than at the levels of injuries in the patients studied.