Peripheral Nerve Repair Flashcards
Peripheral nerve (definition, why repair strategies are needed, current strategies)
Dorsal root ganglia (location of sensory neuorn cell bodies) in spinal cord
Grey matter has neuronal cell bodies and white matter tracts (connections up and down) and motor part of connection towards the front.
//draw
Nerve injury is common and can be costly (ex. glass shard in skin, 1 in 1000 injuries involved a finger laceration)
Brachial plexus is a network of interwoven nerves emerging from the spinal cord that sends signals to the shoulder, arm and hand
Brachial plexus injuries can be severe and can result from trauma, pressure or stretching of the neck or shoulder
Ex. of brachial plexus injuries:
Car accidents resulting in non-functioning arm).
Erb’s palsy (rare) in babies born feet first where the shoulder is stuck in which brachial nerve in arm is damaged during birth.
Currently:
Keep glass in (slow bleeding) and hold nerve
Surgeons performs tension free suture (can perform on nerve 0.2mm diameter)
Functional testing weeks later to identify where the connection has been lost (poke with bristle of different stiffness and check without patient looking what can be felt. 2 point discrimination, if two bristles are 0.5mm apart does it feel like one)
Structure of CNS
Sensory neurons: One extension to centre that connecting to interneuron, or to spinal cord extending one axon to sensory motor cortex in brain
Other part goes to peripheral to connect to skin ()as pain , heat sensor) or has accessory structures to sense vibration, pressure, movement (associate with root of hair to sense movement)
Axon can be up to 1m long (microns in diameter if myelinated). Motor proteins (move at ) takes days to enact physical response
