title: Sensory conduction study of the infrapatellar branch of the saphenous nerve.
abstract: Although neuropathies of the infrapatellar nerve (infrapatellar branch of the saphenous nerve, IPBSN) have been reported clinically, no electrophysiological method has been defined to evaluate IPBSN conduction. We therefore studied a total of 60 saphenous nerves and 60 IPBSNs from 36 volunteers. The IPBSN was stimulated medially with a surface electrode 2 cm below the patella. The response was recorded with a needle electrode located close to the nerve 1 cm lateral to the femoral artery in the inguinal region. Sensory nerve action potentials were obtained from each subject; mean latency of the first positive peak was 8.1 +/- 0.9 ms, conduction velocity was 54 +/- 4.4 m/s, and response amplitude was 1.3 +/- 1.1 microV. The method that we describe may be an easy and useful electrophysiological test for neuropathies of the IPBSN.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Ege University, Medical School Hospital, Bornova, Izmir, 35100 Turkey. fikret.bademkiran@ege.edu.tr
authors.forename: Fikret
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bademkiran
authors.forename: Basra
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Obay
authors.forename: Ibrahim
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Aydogdu
authors.forename: Cumhur
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ertekin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000294:innervation*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009407:Nerve Block / Q000379:methods; D009431:Neural Conduction / Q000502:physiology*; D010329:Patella / Q000294:innervation*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D011984:Sensory Receptor Cells / Q000502:physiology*