title: Relationship of intraneural damage in the rat sciatic nerve to the mechanism of injury.
abstract: The degree of nerve injury is difficult to determine and varies according to the mechanism of injury. Experimental nerve avulsion, cut, crush, and saw injuries were produced in male Sprague-Dawley rats. The extent of nerve damage was assessed histologically and by intraoperative observations on days 1, 8, and 21 post-injury. Nerve avulsions produced the most severe injury, followed by saw, crush, and cut mechanisms of injury. The intraoperative observations on day 1 were not predictors of the degree of injury at day 21. Avulsion injuries are most suitably treated secondarily by a nerve reconstruction technique, not by a primary repair.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Neurosurgery, University of Chicago.
authors.forename: L S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Zachary
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Dellon
authors.forename: W A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Seiler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005355:Fibrosis; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012584:Sciatic Nerve / Q000293:injuries* / Q000473:pathology; D013997:Time Factors; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery