Anterior Interosseous Nerve Palsy as a Complication of Forearm Fractures

Two cases of palsy of the anterior interosseous nerve were recently observed, each complicating a closed forearm fracture. A detailed description of this nerve lesion in association with a fracture has not, to my knowledge, been reported previously. The object of this paper is to record the findings and prognosis of the discrete nerve lesion observed in these two cases, and in addition to suggest why the anterior interosseous nerve is involved. ANATOMY The anterior interosseous nerve is a motor nerve. It supplies the flexor pollicis longus, the index and often the middle finger segments of the flexor digitorum profundus, and the pronator quadratus. The supply to the flexor pollicis longus and the index finger segment ANTERIOR of the flexor digitorum profundus is con-stant (Seddon 1954, Mangini 1960). The anterior interosseous nerve branches from the median nervejust distal to the neck