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Updated: Aug 17, 2026

Three-dimensional Imaging of Nociceptive Intraepidermal Nerve Fibers in Human Skin Biopsies
Published on: April 29, 2013
Pathological changes of human unmyelinated nerve fibers: a review
1Department of Neurology, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Graduate School of Medicine, Japan. t-kanda.nuro@med.tmd.ac.jp
Abstract:
In the cutaneous nerves, unmyelinated nerve fibers outnumber the myelinated ones but are scarcely analyzed, especially at autopsy. This indifference toward the pathology of unmyelinated nerve fibers may be due to the necessity of electron microscopic analyses and, more importantly, the obscurity of pathological alteration of unmyelinated nerve fibers in aging as well as in peripheral nerve disorders. The aim of this article is to review (1) the normal appearance including postmortem changes, (2) the age-related changes, and (3) the pathological alteration in various neuropathic and non-neuropathic conditions, of unmyelinated nerve fibers in the sural nerve. For the complete analyses of sural nerve, qualitative and quantitative estimation of unmyelinated nerve fibers in all specimens should be recommended and it sometimes has an important diagnostic value.
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