The paper deals with a retrospective evaluation of the accessory nerve and trapezius muscle function after modified radical and selective neck dissections. In the period from 1/1995 till 3/2000 a total of 98modified radical and selective neck dissections were made at the Otolaryngology Ward of the Central Military Hospital, Prague. Thirty eight patients (43%) were invited and 29 of themshowed up (76% of the invited patients), having undergone forty seven neck dissections before. All patients were asked to report their subjective complaints and morphological and function conditions of the shoulder was examined and EMG examinations of the accessory nerve and the trapezius muscle were performed. Subjective complaints after the operation were reported by five patients (17%), pathological morphological and functional condition of the shoulder was found in six cases (13%), while normal finding was present in 41 cases (87%). The EMG examination of the trapezius muscle did not reveal denervation potentials at rest and the intentional EMG activity reached the 4th to 5th degree, i.e. adequate intentional activity, in all cases. In the EMGexamination of the accessory nerve, adequate motor conduction was observed in 41 cases (87%), disorder in motor conduction of the accessory nervewere verified in six cases (13%), but motor activity of the accessory nerve could not be elicited in one case only (2%). In five patients withdama ge of the accessory nerve the authors demonstrated correlation between subjective complaints,morphological and functional condition of the shoulder and EMG examination of the accessory nerve.

        Key words: shoulder, the accessory nerve, the trapezius muscle, drop shoulder syndrome.