Electrophysiological assessment of normal sciatic nerve by surface stimulation in the rats

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of electrophysiological measurement for sciatic nerve conduction by surface stimulation.Methods: During the electrophysiological recording,surface stimulation and direct nerve stimulation were performed successively in 8 normal SD rats after its being properly anesthetized.The compound muscle action potential(CMAP)and motor conduction velocity(MCV) values from the two different ways were analyzed by using GraphPad Prism 4.0 software package.Results: No statistical significance was found between surface stimulation and direct nerve stimulation with respect to either CMAP amplitude(13.8±3.0mVv.s.13.3±1.8 mV) or MCV(53.2±5.1m/s v.s.54.7±2.6 m/s).Conclusion: The results suggested that surface stimulation is a practicable way for CMAP recording,indicating a possible application in non-invasive electrophysiological evaluation of peripheral nerve regeneration.