"Erb's point" is also a term used in head and neck surgery to describe the point on the posterior border of the sternocleidomastoid muscle, approximately 2-3cm above the clavicle, overlying the transverse process of the sixth cervical vertebra,[3] where the four superficial branches of the cervical plexus—the greater auricular, lesser occipital, transverse cervical, and supraclavicular nerves—emerge from behind the muscle.

This point is located approximately at the junction of the upper and middle thirds of this muscle.

From here, the accessory nerve courses through the posterior triangle of the neck to enter the anterior border of the trapezius muscle at a point located approximately at the junction of the middle and lower thirds of the anterior border of this muscle.

Injury to Erb's point is commonly sustained at birth or from a fall onto the shoulder.

Typically, an affected person's arm hangs at the side with the hand rotated medially, like a porter waiting for a tip; hence the colloquial name "porter's tip hand".