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Fiber composition of the lateral plantar and superficial peroneal nerves in the rat foot

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Abstract

This study examines the fiber composition of two nerves projecting to the rat hindpaw: the lateral plantar nerve (LPN), which innervates plantar glabrous skin and some plantar muscles, and the foot branch of the superficial peroneal nerve (fSPN), which projects to dorsal hairy skin. The LPN contains 872 (33%) myelinated axons with a size range of 1–7 μm and a peak at 4 μm. Some 200 of the myelinated axons are muscle efferents. There are 1,969 (67%) C-fibers. After neonatal capsaicin treatment, the number of C-fibers in the LPN is 61% below the normal level, but it is not significantly different from control levels after chemical sympathectomy with guanethidine. The fSPN is composed of 470 (20%) myelinated axons with a size range similar to that in the LPN. Virtually all myelinated fibers are sensory. There are 1,791 (80%) C-fibers. In neonatally capsaicin-treated animals, the occurrence of C-fibers is 65% below control levels. In chemically sympathectomized animals, the number of C-fibers in the fSPN is normal. This description of the fiber composition of the LPN and the fSPN in the rat provides a basis for future experimental studies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plastic Surgery, Hand Surgery and Burns, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Linköping, S-58185, Linköping, Sweden

    B. Povlsen, N. Stankovic & P. Danielsson

  2. Department of Cell Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Linköping, S-58185, Linköping, Sweden

    B. Povlsen, N. Stankovic & C. Hildebrand

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  1. B. Povlsen
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  2. N. Stankovic
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  3. P. Danielsson
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  4. C. Hildebrand
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Povlsen, B., Stankovic, N., Danielsson, P. et al. Fiber composition of the lateral plantar and superficial peroneal nerves in the rat foot. Anat Embryol 189, 393–399 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00185434

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