Carpal tunnel syndrome is associated with which nerve?

• A. Radius
• B. Ulnar nerve of the wrist
• C. Median nerve of the wrist
• D. Head of the ulna

Answer: (C)

Carpal tunnel syndrome results from compression of the median nerve as it travels through the carpal tunnel in the wrist. This nerve provides sensation to the thumb, index, middle, and the radial half of the ring finger, and it also supplies muscles of the thumb via the recurrent branch, so compression can cause numbness, tingling, and sometimes weakness in the thenar muscles. The nerve involved is the median nerve of the wrist.

The other options don’t fit because the radius and the head of the ulna are bones, not nerves. The ulnar nerve at the wrist runs through a different canal (Guyon’s canal) and is associated with ulnar tunnel problems, not carpal tunnel syndrome.