The Rock Heard Around the World
Correct answer is D. The nerve labeled is the deep branch of the ulnar nerve. This branch., among other intrinsic muscles of the hand, is motor to the dorsal and ventral interossei that abduct and adduct the fingers. It is this action that was impaired in the fictional injury to Will Smith. One way that this could have happened is if the hitting of the face mask brought pressure at the hook of the hamate, one of the carpal bones. Hamate fractures suggest a high probability of ulnar nerve damage due to the anatomical position of hamate. These fractures can lead to motor, sensory, or mixed deficits.
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Answer to this question is based on material presented in lectures 6 of the Uper LImb Lecture Series.
= Digital branch of median n.
= Recurrent branch of median n.
= Superficial branch of ulnar n.
= Deep branch of ulnar n.
= Superficial branch of radial n.
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