European radiology
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The diagnosis of nerve entrapment and compressive neuropathy has been traditionally based on the clinical and electrodiagnostic examinations. As a result of improvements in the magnetic resonance (MR) imaging modality, it plays not only a fundamental role in the detection of space-occupying lesions, but also a compensatory role in clinically and electrodiagnostically inconclusive cases. ⋯ The common sites of nerve entrapment of the upper extremity are as follows: the brachial plexus of the thoracic outlet; axillary nerve of the quadrilateral space; radial nerve of the radial tunnel; ulnar nerve of the cubital tunnel and Guyon's canal; median nerve of the pronator syndrome, anterior interosseous nerve syndrome, and carpal tunnel syndrome. Although MR imaging can depict the peripheral nerves in the extremities effectively, radiologists should be familiar with nerve pathways, common sites of nerve compression, and common space-occupying lesions resulting in nerve compression in MR imaging.