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Glite Dictionary
🫁 Chest and back 🧠 A body nerve
thoracodorsal

thoracodorsal

9.9
A nerve or artery that supplies the large back muscle used to move the arm
  • noun
  • /θɔːrəkoʊˈdɔːrsəl/
  • Specialized
: nervio toracodorsal
  • The surgeon carefully identified the thoracodorsal nerve to avoid damaging its supply to the latissimus dorsi muscle.
  • thoracodorsal artery
  • thoracodorsal artery perforator

Examples

  • The thoracodorsal nerve can be separated from the vessels and preserved.

    Academic text (2005)

  • The preoperative markings are shown for the thoracodorsal artery perforator (TDAP) flap.

    Academic text (2005)

  • This line appears white because of the presence of the lateral thoracodorsal nerve and vascular bundle.

    Academic text (2005)

  • Before the operation, the anatomy of the thoracodorsal artery was reviewed to ensure proper surgical technique.

  • Understanding the function of the thoracodorsal nerve is essential for procedures involving the back muscles.

Surface Forms

thoracodorsal singular
thoracodorsals plural

Morphology

thoracodorsal = dorsal (semi-transparent) = thoraco + dorsal

The word is compositionally built from the anatomical prefix 'thoraco-' and 'dorsal', but the full term is a specialized technical adjective that many learners would not fully infer from the parts alone.

Etymology

Thoracodorsal comes from thoraco- 'chest', as in thorax, and dorsal 'back', as in a 'dorsal fin', so a thoracodorsal nerve or artery is named because it links the chest area to the large back muscle.