Functional consequences of experimental nerve lesions: effects of reinnervation blend.

In spite of a constant and irrepressible growth of sprouts from the proximal stump of peripheral nerves that have been injured, functional recovery varies greatly from one case to another. To try and understand the reasons for this variability, I have proposed a novel view of the events occurring in a regenerating nerve; based on this view, a probability model was designed that could represent all situations observed after nerve injury. This model, described elsewhere, is based on the assumptions that the guidance role of basal lamina tubes is fundamentally important and that when this guidance fails, regrowth is random. In the present study, this model was tested; behavioral results were measured after various procedures on rat sciatic nerve, and these data were compared with results predicted for similar injuries through the probability model. A good correlation was observed between theoretical and experimental results, indicating that the probability model was reliable. Using this model as the basis for my conclusions, the inconsistent results of current surgical techniques of nerve repair were tentatively explained.