The lateral and medial antebrachial cutaneous nerves are sensory nerves supplying the anterolateral and anteromedial side of the forearm.

They have not been included in the ordinary sensory nerve conduction studies. But they can be used in several clinical cases such as diagnostic study of the peripheral neuropathy of the wrist disarticulated patients, or the polyneuropathy of various etilogies, or determination at the level of the brachial plexus lesion.

The aim of this study lies in determination of normal value that is latency, amplitude, conduction velocity of the lateral and medial antebrachial cutaneous nerves.

Total 111 nerves in 56 healthy Korean ranging in age from 15 to 66 years were examined.

The results are summarized as follows.

1) In the lateral antebrachial cutaneous nerves, the mean value of the distal latency was 2.61±0.12 msec, the mean value of the amplitude was 33.62±13.36 uV, the mean value of the conduction velocity was 53.61±2.61M/sec.

2) In the medial antebrachial cutaneous nerves, the mean value of the distal latency was 2.65±0.15 msec. the mean value of the amplitude was 17.12±6.28 uV, the mean value of the conduction velocity was 52.57±2.74M/sec.

3) There was no significant difference related to the age, the sex and the side of the extremities.

4) The amplitude of the lateral antebrachial cutaneous nerves tends to be larger than that of the medial antebrachial cutaneous nerves, but there was no significant difference in the distal latency and the conduction velocity between the lateral and medial antebrachial cutaneous nerves.

5) In lateral and medial antebrachial cutaneous nerves, there were clearly demarkated sensory nerve action potentials at 14 cm distance recording.