Anatomical variations of the formation of human sural nerve in stillborns

Introduction: The sural nerve (SN) is formed by the union of the medial and lateral sural cutaneous nerves (MSCN, LSCN) of the leg that originate from the tibial and common peroneal nerves. Sural nerve is used for various reasons in surgical operations. The sural nerve is universally recognized by surgeons as a site for harvesting an autologous nerve graft The aim of this study was to describe the course, variations, morphometric analysis and some clinically significant relations of the human sural nerve in stillborns. Methods: The study was carried out on 18 Turkish stillborns, 12 males and 6 females. The formation of sural nevre was classified into three main groups. The site of formation of the sural nerve was observed and the length of the sural nerve components were measured. Results: Three types of SN formation were observed. Type A (anastomotic type) was seen in 33 of the observed 36 legs (92%). The site of formation of the SN by union of the MSCN and LSCN was 30% (10/33). In males, the mean length of MSCN was 24.59 +/- 14.84 mm and 27.45 +/- 23.30 mm in females. Discussion: This study was performed to ensure an anatomical and morphometrical description of the sural nerve and its components in 18 embalmed stillborns. Due to its great importance in neurosurgery and plastic surgery, the formation type, course and formation level of the sural nerve have been studied on different races and age groups since the beginning of the last century. (C) 2018 Anatomical Society of India. Published by Elsevier, a division of RELX India, Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved.