title: The brachial plexus branches to the pectoral muscles in adult rats: morphological aspects and morphometric normative data.
abstract: Animal models provide an important tool to investigate the pathogenesis of neuromuscular disorders. In the present study, we analyze fiber composition of the brachial plexus branches to the pectoral muscles: the medial anterior thoracic nerve (MATN) and the lateral anterior thoracic nerve (LATN). The morphological and morphometric characteristics and the percentage of motor fibers within each nerve are here reported, adding information to microscopic anatomy knowledge of the rat brachial plexus. As control, we employed the quadriceps nerve, commonly used for the evaluation of motor fibers at hindlimbs. We demonstrated that the MATN and the LATN are predominantly composed of large motor fibers and therefore could be employed to evaluate the peripheral nervous system (PNS) involvement at forelimbs in neurological diseases models, predominantly affecting the motor fiber compartment.
authors.affiliation: Neuropathology Unit, Division of Neuroscience and INSPE, San Raffaele Scientific Institute Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Nilo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Riva
authors.forename: Teuta
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Domi
authors.forename: Ignazio Diego
authors.initials: ID
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Triolo
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fossaghi
authors.forename: Giorgia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dina
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Podini
authors.forename: Giancarlo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Comi
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Quattrini
keywords: brachial plexus; lateral anterior thoracic nerve; medial anterior thoracic nerve; motor fibers; pectoral nerves; peripheral nerve; rat anatomy