A Cadaveric Study of Two Uncommon Cases of Sural Nerve Complex Variation
Publié en ligne: 21 sept. 2023
Pages: 50 - 54
Reçu: 29 juin 2023
Accepté: 01 août 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jim-2023-0007
Mots clés
© 2023 Ovidiu-Ioan Șușu et al., published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.
Introduction
The sural nerve is a sensitive nerve whose function is to provide sensory supply for the posterolateral aspect of the distal third of the leg and the lateral side of the dorsum of the foot. This nerve is formed in the upper third of the calf from the terminal branches of the tibial and common peroneal nerves and the communicating branch of the sural nerve.
Objectives
The aim of our study is to showcase two anatomical variants of the sural nerve.
Materials and methods
Two formalin-preserved cadavers, one male and one female, embalmed using formalin 4% were dissected with the intent of being used as teaching materials for the students attending anatomy classes at the “George Emil Palade” University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of Târgu Mureș, Romania.
Results
In both cases, less common anatomical variations of the formation of sural nerve were discovered. On the male cadaver, we identified the sural nerve as a continuation of the medial sural cutaneous nerve. The lateral sural cutaneous nerve and the communicating branch of the sural nerve were both absent. On the female cadaver, we identified both the medial sural cutaneous nerve and the lateral sural cutaneous nerve. The sural nerve was, however, a continuation of only the lateral sural cutaneous nerve, with the medial sural cutaneous nerve as an independent branch.
Conclusions
We described two anatomical variants of the sural nerve, which are less common than those documented in the literature.