Nerve regeneration: basic and applied aspects.

Increased knowledge is shedding new light on our understanding of central and peripheral nerve anatomy and molecular biology and function. New tools and methods provide important methods for the study of the behavior of cells, axons, and receptors. This review discusses the current state of that knowledge, with particular regard to the efficacy of the Seddon classification of nerve injury. The correlation of that new information to damage and repair of the peripheral sensory nerve, especially the inferior alveolar and lingual nerves, serves to highlight the progress and problems that exist.