Symptoms of BRACHIAL PLEXUS TUMOR

The symptoms which develop depend on which part of the brachial plexus is involved. When the entire brachial plexus is involved, the entire arm is involved, both in its strength and sensation. When the upper part of the brachial plexus is involved, the muscles supplied by the upper nerve roots are principally affected. This usually leads to weakness of the shoulder and biceps. The hand function may be relatively well preserved. Tumors of the lower brachial plexus, or tumors arising from the lung, usually produce weakness and wasting of the small muscles of the hand. The hand assumes a claw like deformity. There may be a Horner's syndrome, where the eye on the affected side has a smaller pupil and there is some drooping of the eyelid. If the tumor arises from a specific nerve or cord of the brachial plexus, the symptoms may be restricted to only those muscles and that area of sensation that the particular nerve supplies.