Experimental Injection Injury of the Sciatic Nerve: Part I Histopathology

ABSTRACT

Sciatic nerve injury can result from intragluteal administration of any kind of antibiotics or other agents therapeutically or prophylactically. This experimental study was conducted in order to observe the histopathological findings of injured sciatic nerve following injection with normal saline, chloromycetin, penicillin and rheumapyrine. Fifty-five experimental normal adult rabbits were divided into 4 groups and various substances were injected intraneurally on the right side and perineurally on the left side. Pathological specimens were then taken at intervals of 1, 3, 7, and 21 days after injection. The results obtained were summarized as follows 1. Rheumapyrine produced the greatest reaction, penicllin was the next and chlomycetin was the least damaging of the drugs in this study. 2. More conspicuous pathological changes were observed on the right side than on the left side. 3. It was thought that major source of damage to the sciatic nerve was chemical toxicity to the peripheral nerve. 4. Intraneural injections of rheumaphyrine induced irreversible damage on nervous tissue and perineural fibrosis. 5. Intraneural injection of penicillin caused transient reversible damage on nervous tissue with perineural deposition of collagen. 6. Intraneural injection of chloromycetin induced early reversible damage on nervous tissue with persistant inflammatory reaction in soft tissue. 7. Perineural injection of rheumapyrine, penicillin and chloromycetin induced mild damage on nerveus tissue and revealed moderate inflammatory reaction on soft tissue.