Functional recovery and histomorphometric assessment following tibial nerve injury in the mouse.

Longitudinal studies have established that functional recovery following sciatic nerve injury can be evaluated in the mouse. Injury to the tibial nerve offers several advantages to sciatic nerve injury, including improved lower extremity sensation and end-organ reinnervation. Functional recovery following tibial nerve crush injury was studied in 55 C3H mice randomized into five groups harvested for histomorphometric evaluation from either normal nerves or 2, 3, 4, or 6 weeks postoperatively. Walking tracks were obtained preoperatively, and at regular intervals postoperatively, and foot print lengths measured. Significant normalization of print length occurred 14 days postoperatively, and complete recovery was noted 28 days postoperatively. Significant histomorphologic evidence of neuroregeneration was detected between 2 and 4 weeks postoperatively. Injury to the tibial nerve is a viable alternative to the sciatic nerve for studying neural regeneration in mice, and the print length factor can be used to monitor functional recovery in this model.