Page 10 of Wrong Number Right Doctor

Evan: Roots, trunks, divisions, cords, branches.

Evan: Think of it as a highway system from the spinal cord to the upper limb.

I squint at the diagram. Highway system is generous. This looks like the city planner quit halfway through and the intern had access to colored pencils.

Me: I’m looking at it now and I regret to inform you that it looks less like a highway and more like noodles committing organized crime.

A pause.

Then: Not wrong.

I smile. Evan is drier in text than he is in person.

Interesting.

Evan: Start with the roots. C5, C6, C7, C8, T1.

Evan: Then trunks: upper, middle, lower.

Evan: Upper is C5-C6. Middle is C7. Lower is C8-T1.

I grab my pen and write.

Me: Upper, middle, lower. That part I can handle. It sounds like apartment pricing.

Evan: Which one are you living in?

I glance around my studio. One window. One suspicious ceiling stain. A bookshelf leaning like it knows secrets. Laundry on the chair. Rent that makes me question whether Boston is a city or a dare.

Me: Emotionally, lower trunk. Financially, basement plexus.

Evan: Basement plexus is not on the exam.

Me: It should be. It innervates despair.

Evan: Then you already know it.

I laugh once, small and surprised. That’s good.

Annoyingly good.

I underline upper trunk = C5-C6.

Me: Okay, what happens after trunks?

Evan: Divisions. Each trunk splits into anterior and posterior divisions.

Evan: Anterior divisions generally supply flexor compartments.

Evan: Posterior divisions generally supply extensor compartments.

Me: Generally. Love when anatomy is casual about ruining lives.

Evan: Medicine enjoys exceptions.

Me: Medicine is a toxic relationship with flashcards.

Evan: And you chose it.