CORRELATIVE MR-ANATOMIC STUDY OF THE MEDIAN NERVE

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the effectiveness of MR imaging for showing the intrinsic anatomy of a peripheral nerve. Cadaver wrist specimens that included the median nerve were imaged wi th MR imaging at 3 T, then sectioned, stained, and inspected grossly a nd microscopically. The size, shape, and signal intensity of the sheat h and axonal structures in the median nerve were identified in MR imag es by comparison with anatomic sections. CONCLUSION. This study sugges ts that MR imaging with sufficiently high-resolution techniques shows the internal structure of peripheral nerves. These results suggest tha t NIR imaging may be a means to distinguish neuritis, tumor, degenerat ion, or fatty proliferation in a peripheral nerve and to evaluate the nerve before microsurgical anastomosis.