Abstract:
Nerve injuries usually present as pain, numbness, or weakness, and can have devastating consequences for patients. Procedures that are common in primary care can cause nerve injury. Iatrogenic nerve injuries are largely preventable by understanding nerve anatomical course and surface anatomy, and the risky interventions and regions. Most knowledge of nerve anatomical course is derived from early work on cadaver dissection, but modern imaging techniques more accurately map nerve anatomical course in living bodies. We provide an overview of nerve injuries in primary care, discuss updated nerve anatomical course and surface anatomy based on modern radiological evidence, and make recommendations to guide safer interventions in primary care.