Which condition is correctly identified with median nerve compression at the wrist?

• A. Tennis elbow
• B. Cubital tunnel syndrome
• C. Carpal tunnel syndrome
• D. Guyon tunnel syndrome

Answer: (C)

Compression of the median nerve at the wrist happens when the nerve travels through the carpal tunnel, a passage bounded by carpal bones and the flexor retinaculum. This entrapment leads to carpal tunnel syndrome, the classic median-nerve compression in the hand. Symptoms often include numbness and tingling in the thumb, index, middle, and radial half of the ring finger, frequently worse at night, and weakness of the thenar muscles that can make thumb opposition and gripping less effective. This distribution differentiates it from other nerve issues: tennis elbow is an elbow tendon problem, cubital tunnel syndrome involves the ulnar nerve at the elbow, and Guyon tunnel syndrome is ulnar nerve compression at the wrist.