A phased array of surface coils was constructed for magnetic resonance imaging in three different regions in the brachial plexus. Four-coil subsets of the six-coil array were activated at any given time during imaging in three volunteers. An in vivo estimate of the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) at three locations in the brachial plexus indicated that the phased-array coil provided a signal-to-noise ratio that was three to six times higher than that of the body coil.