Anatomical Study of the Median Nerve in the Carpal Tunnel and Etiologies of the Carpal-Tunnel Syndrome

Abstract

1. An anatomical study of the carpal tunnel and its contents is presented 2. The median nerve and the flexor tendons are crowded within an osseous trough, rigid on three sides, roofed by a thick transverse carpal ligament. 3. Compression of the median nerve within the carpal tunnel (carpal-tunnel syndrome) may be caused by: increase in the volume of the contents, whether due to injury or disease; decrease in the volume of the tunnel due to deformation of the bone trough (osteo-arthritis or fracture); thickening of the transverse carpal ligament^17,26; and anomalous structures within the tunnel. 4. Extreme positions of volar flexion or dorsiflexion of the wrist reduce the volume of the carpal tunnel. These positions may initiate symptoms of median-nerve compression following an inflammatory process in the tunnel or an injury to the wrist.