Abstract: Objective：To explore the protected effect of sensory baby-sitter in reverse end-to-side fashion on denervated muscle. Methods: The tibial nerve of twelve female adult Sprague Dawley rats was transected. Six animals served as controls. In the other rats, the end of the sural nerve was connected to the side of the distal tibial nerve stump. After twelve weeks, the wet weight, cross-sectional area, motor endplate perimeter from gastrocnemius muscle were examined. Results: The difference in wet weight between the experimental group and the control group was statistically significant (39.2%±6.8% vs. 19.5%±4.3%, P<0.05). Histological observation of the unprotected muscles displayed wide areas of atrophied fibers and considerable connective tissue hyperplasia, whereas the structure of the experimental rats was preserved and there was only a slight increase in connective tissue. The average crosssectional area and motor endplate perimeter of muscle fibers were significantly larger in the experimental group than in the control group ［(1 148.85±547.18) μm2 vs. (575.05±140.51) μm2, (102.84±53.29) μm vs. (59.60±26.71) μm, respectively］. Conclusion: Sensory babysitter in reverse end-to-side neurorrhaphy preserves the structure of denervated muscle in rats.

Key words: Denervation, Atrophy, muscle, Nerve regeneration, Neurorrhaphy