Definition
Peripheral nerves are formed by axonal extensions of neurons in the dorsal root ganglia and spinal cord (spinal nerves), brain stem (cranial nerves), or sympathetic and parasympathetic ganglia (autonomic nerves) that connect the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) with the rest of the body to maintain homeostasis, mediate sensation, movement, and coordination. The 43 pairs of sensory and motor nerves in the human body are composed of bundles of axons embedded in a collagenous matrix (endoneurium), ensheathed by connective tissue (perineurium), and wrapped by an external connective layer (epineurium). The cellular components of peripheral nerves include Schwann cells, fibroblasts, endothelial-like cells, and macrophages (Stewart, 2003).
Detailed Description
Types of Peripheral Nerves
Peripheral nerves are also classified in reference to the main function that they serve, as either motor sensory or autonomic nerves.
Motor Nerves
This nerves are composed by fibers...
References
Brown MC, Butler RG (1976) Regeneration of afferent and efferent fibres to muscle spindles after nerve injury in adults cats. J Physiol 260(2):253–266
Burgess PR, Horch KW (1973) Specific regeneration of cutaneous fibers in the cat. J Neurophysiol 36(1):101–114
Carroll P, Lewin GR, Koltzenburg M, Toyka KV, Thoenen H (1998) A role for BDNF in mechanosensation. Nat Neurosci 1(1):42–46
Chen HH, Tourtellotte WG, Frank E (2002) Muscle spindle-derived neurotrophin 3 regulates synaptic connectivity between muscle sensory and motor neurons. J Neurosci 22(9):3512–3519
Eberhardt KA, Irintchev A, Al-Majed AA, Simova O, Brushart TM, Gordon T, Schachner M (2006) BDNF/TrkB signaling regulates HNK-1 carbohydrate expression in regenerating motor nerves and promotes functional recovery after peripheral nerve repair. Exp Neurol 198(2):500–510
Fawcett JW, Keynes RJ (1990) Peripheral nerve regeneration. Annu Rev Neurosci 13:43–60
Fugleholm K, Schmalbruch H, Krarup C (1994) Early peripheral nerve regeneration after crushing, sectioning, and freeze studied by implanted electrodes in the cat. J Neurosci 14(5 Pt 1):2659–2673
Gordon T (2009) The role of neurotrophic factors in nerve regeneration. Neurosurg Focus 26(2):E3
Hildebrand C, Kocsis JD, Berglund S, Waxman SG (1985) Myelin sheath remodelling in regenerated rat sciatic nerve. Brain Res 358(1–2):163–170
Hoke A, Brushart T (2010) Introduction to special issue: challenges and opportunities for regeneration in the peripheral nervous system. Exp Neurol 223(1):1–4
Hu X, Cai J, Yang J, Smith GM (2010) Sensory axon targeting is increased by NGF gene therapy within the lesioned adult femoral nerve. Exp Neurol 223(1):153–165
Kelsey JL, Praemer A, Nelson L et al (1997) Upper extremity disorders. Frequency, impact, and cost. Churchill Livingstone, New York
Kiryu-Seo S, Kiyama H (2011) The nuclear events guiding successful nerve regeneration. Front Mol Neurosci 4:53
Krarup C, Loeb GE, Pezeshkpour GH (1988) Conduction studies in peripheral cat nerve using implanted electrodes: II. The effects of prolonged constriction on regeneration of crushed nerve fibers. Muscle Nerve 11(9):933–944
Madison RD, Archibald SJ, Brushart TM (1996) Reinnervation accuracy of the rat femoral nerve by motor and sensory neurons. J Neurosci 16(18):5698–5703
Navarro X, Verdu E, Buti M (1994) Comparison of regenerative and reinnervating capabilities of different functional types of nerve fibers. Exp Neurol 129(2):217–224
Patodia S, Raivich G (2012) Role of transcription factors in peripheral nerve regeneration. Front Mol Neurosci 5:8
Pfister BJ, Gordon T, Loverde JR, Kochar AS, Mackinnon SE, Cullen DK (2011) Biomedical engineering strategies for peripheral nerve repair: surgical applications, state of the art, and future challenges. Crit Rev Biomed Eng 39(2):81–124
Romero MI, Rangappa N, Garry MG, Smith GM (2001) Functional regeneration of chronically injured sensory afferents into adult spinal cord after neurotrophin gene therapy. J Neurosci 21(21):8408–8416
Schroder JM (1972) Altered ratio between axon diameter and myelin sheath thickness in regenerated nerve fibers. Brain Res 45(1):49–65
Stewart JD (2003) Peripheral nerve fascicles: anatomy and clinical relevance. Muscle Nerve 28(5):525–541
Tansey KE, Seifert JL, Botterman B, Delgado MR, Romero MI (2011) Peripheral nerve repair through multi-luminal biosynthetic implants. Ann Biomed Eng 39(6):1815–1828
Taylor CA, Braza D, Rice JB, Dillingham T (2008) The incidence of peripheral nerve injury in extremity trauma. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 87(5):381–385
Zheng M, Kuffler DP (2000) Guidance of regenerating motor axons in vivo by gradients of diffusible peripheral nerve-derived factors. J Neurobiol 42(2):212–219
Zochodne DW (2012) The challenges and beauty of peripheral nerve regrowth. J Peripher Nerv Syst 17(1):1–18
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this entry
Cite this entry
Romero-Ortega, M. (2014). Peripheral Nerves, Anatomy and Physiology of. In: Jaeger, D., Jung, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_214-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_214-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-7320-6
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences