[An experimental study of the assessment of peripheral nerve function by the horseradish peroxidase method]

The spinal anterior horn cells could be stained by using retrograde transport of the horseradish peroxidase (HRP) in the rat. This experiment had two major purposes. The first was the confirmation of where to distribute the rat motoneurons innervating the tibialis anterior muscles by using HRP method; the second was the analysis of whether the number of the spinal anterior horn cells indicate the peripheral nerve damage. For evaluation of the damage of nerve function, the sciatic nerves of the rats were injured. After the injury, the relationship between the evoked potential and the number of the labeled cells were analyzed.

The labeled cells revealed a distribution of motoneurons between L3 and L5; the lower the number of the labeled cells, the lower the amplitude of the M wave. The HRP method was considered to be useful for quantitative evaluation of the peripheral nerve damage.