RATE AND EXTENT OF EARLY AXONAL DEGENERATION OF THE HUMAN FACIAL-NERVE

Electrophysiologic and histologic studies on a severed human facial ne rve have shown that 1) response to stimulation by electroneuronography was lost on the sixth day following injury, 2) wallerian degeneration progressed in a nonuniform ''front,'' leaving some of the distal stum p axons still viable and responsive to intraoperative stimulation 2 da ys following injury, and 3) the extent of proximal retrograde degenera tion was far greater than to the next node of Ranvier. These findings are discussed in light of the current knowledge regarding peripheral n erve degeneration, and explanations are suggested.