Physical Therapies Exploration of the cubital nerve, 1881

Physical Therapies Exploration of the cubital nerve, 1881. Illustration by Gilbert, plate taken from 'La Nature' (Paris, 1881) edited by Gaston Tissandier, showing a doctor stimulating the cubital nerve of a woman patient with a steel-nibbed quill, causing the contraction of three fingers. The cubital, or ulnar, nerve is one of the three major nerves in the arm. The point where the nerve crosses the elbow bone is what is commonly known as the ïfunny bone. Friction or pressure on the nerve at this point gives rise to a condition known as cubital tunnel syndrome, characterised by pain in the elbow, tingling and numbness in the little and ring fingers, and possibly muscle weakness in the forearm. ©SSPL/Science Museum