LOSS OF NERVE-ENDINGS IN THE SPINAL DORSAL HORN AFTER A PERIPHERAL-NERVE INJURY - AN ANATOMICAL STUDY IN MACACA-FASCICULARIS MONKEYS

In patients, the long-term outcome of injuries to sensory nerves is po or. This is only partly due to mismatching of regenerating axons at th e transection site. We found in the macaque monkey that 70% of the tra nsganglionic labelling in the spinal dorsal horn was still significant ly reduced 21 months after transection and suturing of the sensory rad ial nerve. The reduction was evenly distributed throughout the termina l field of nerve endings, which were labelled with a mixture of the in tra-axonal nerve tracer wheat germ agglutinin-horseradish peroxidase c onjugate and pure horseradish peroxidase.