During your final year OSCE examination you are asked to examine the neurology of a patient’s upper limb. You suspect a lesion of the median nerve. Which of the following facts about the median nerve is INCORRECT?

c. The median nerve innervates most of the flexor compartments of the forearm. It does not pass around the lateral epicondyle – in fact this is the course of the ulnar nerve which is often damaged following injuries to the elbow or distal humerus fractures. The median nerve does provide sensation to the lateral 3½ digits of the hand on the palmar aspect of the hand and may become trapped in the carpal tunnel as it passes deep to the flexor retinaculum at the wrist which may result in pain, paraesthesiae and weakness in the distribution of the nerve.