ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE@#To study the morphological changes of the rat claw inner skeletal muscle after ulnar nerve injury at different sections and different recovery times.@*METHODS@#Forty-two adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were selected and placed randomly in seven groups. After establishing model of injury and repair of claw inner skeletal muscle by cutting off the ulnar nerve, the muscle wet weight, cross section area of myocytes, and collagen fibers were measured.@*RESULTS@#Claw inner skeletal muscle atrophy was significantly less in experiment groups compared with the control groups after ulnar nerve injuries. The functional recovery was better in the early repair groups than the late repair group. Collagen fibers increased slowly in earlier stage, but more significantly in late stage. The muscle atrophy was similar in wrist and elbow after ulnar nerve injury during the same recovery period.@*CONCLUSION@#The function can recover completely or partly in early repair groups, but not quite effective in late stage. The increase of collagen fiber is one of the reasons to undermine the recovery effect of damaged ulnar nerve. There is no obvious difference of effect on the morphological changes of the rat claw inner skeletal muscle no matter the ulnar nerve is injured at wrist or elbow.
Subject(s)
Animals , Male , Rats , Muscle, Skeletal/pathology , Muscular Atrophy/prevention & control , Nerve Regeneration/physiology , Random Allocation , Rats, Sprague-Dawley , Plastic Surgery Procedures , Ulnar Nerve/surgeryABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE@#This study aimed to clarify the morphology of the Martin-Gruber anastomosis (MGA) in Chinese.@*METHODS@#One hundred and five Chinese upper limbs (36 males and 20 femalese) were dissected to find the connections between medial nerve and ulnar nerve. The MGA was classified as previously described by Lee.@*RESULTS@#MGA was found in 24 cases (22.9%), in 11 of the 36 male and 5 of the 20 female. There was no obvious difference in the frequency of MGA in both upper limbs. Most MGA ulnar position was located at the medial and distal segment of the forearm.@*CONCLUSION@#MGA anatomy could play important role in forensic diagnosis of ulnar nerve injury in Chinese population.