Sympathetic innervation of the human leg arteries.

Sympathetic innervation of the human main leg arteries was morphologically investigated by the Formaldehyde-induced fluorescence method of Falck and the silver-impregnation method of Bodian. The following points were established: 1. There is a compact fine-meshed nerve-net directly on the surface of the media. 2. In the dorsal pedal, the anterior tibial, the peroneal, the posterior tibial, and the femoral artery, fine unmyelinated nerve fibers which run on the surface of the media penetrate constantly into the extreme outer layer of the media together with elastic and collagenous elements of the adventitia. 3. There is no difference in the innervation mode of the media of various leg arteries. 4. It seems that there is no correlation between the innervation of the arterial wall and the morbidity difference in the chronic arterial occlusive diseases of leg arteries.