Experimental study on animal model of brachial plexus root avulsion injury

Objective To provide a more scientific and precise animal model for experimental surgery of brachial plexus.Method60SD rats were randomly divided into3groups.In group A,the musculocutaneous nerves were cut off.In group B,C6and branches from C7were cut off.In group C,C5,C6and C7were cut off.In all groups,their proximal ends were avulsed.(The left sides were experimental sides and)the right sides were self-comparison.The indicators of electrophysiology,tis-sue and muscular function were appraised regularly in each group.Results In group A and group C,there were obvious differ-ence in every indicator between experimental sides and normal sides.In group B,although there were a little change of biceps brachial muscle in early stage after operation,there was no significant difference between experimental sides and normal sides as in the late stage.Conclusion Cutting off musculocutaneous nerve,or cutting off C6,C5and C7at the same time ,then mak-ing their proximal ends avulsed can make an animal model accurately mimic brachial plexus root avulsion injury in rat.