Surgical anatomy of the axillary nerve branches to the deltoid muscle.

Variations in the innervation of the posterior deltoid muscle by the anterior branch of the axillary nerve have been reported. The objective of this study is to clarify the anatomy of the axillary nerve branches to the deltoid muscle. One hundred and twenty-nine arms (68 right and 61 left) from 88 embalmed cadavers (83 male and 46 female) were included in the study.