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Wilhelm Erb and Erb's point
Author(s) -
Tubbs R. Shane,
Loukas Marios,
Salter E. George,
Oakes W. Jerry
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
clinical anatomy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.667
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1098-2353
pISSN - 0897-3806
DOI - 10.1002/ca.20385
Subject(s) - medicine , sternocleidomastoid muscle , clavicle , anatomy , point (geometry) , geometry , mathematics
Wilhelm Erb is well known for his early contributions to the field of neurology and was an eminent physician of his time. One area described by him and that still bears his name is Erb's point. This point located just superior to the clavicle was used by Erb to transcutaneously elicit contractions of various proximal arm muscles with electrical stimulation. Many have mistakenly interchanged the terms “Erb's point” and “nerve point” when describing the point of emergence of the cutaneous branches of the cervical plexus near the posterior border of the sternocleidomastoid muscle. We present a brief history of Erb's adult life and review his original description of his supraclavicular point and contrast this to the so called nerve point of the posterior cervical triangle. Clinicians and anatomists should be aware of the discrepancy often found in the literature between these two terms. Clin. Anat. 20:486–488, 2007. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.