Nerve · Shoulders

Thoracodorsal nerve

Nervus thoracodorsalis

The thoracodorsal nerve runs down the back wall of the armpit to supply a single large muscle: latissimus dorsi, the muscle that pulls the arm down and back in a pull-up or a swimming stroke. It carries no skin sensation. Because it travels through the axilla close to the lymph nodes, it is a nerve surgeons take care to identify and protect during axillary surgery.