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Cited by 62Spinal Cord Injury ResearchNerve injury and regenerationNerve Injury and Rehabilitation

The diameters and number of nerve fibers in spinal nerve roots

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Liu, YongTao, Zhou, XiaoJi, Ma, Jun, Ge, YingBin, Cao, Xiaojian·2015·The Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine
DOI 10.1179/1079026814z.000000000273PMC PMC4612209
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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the anatomical and histological features of spinal nerve roots and provide base data for neuroanastomosis therapy for paraplegia. METHODS: Spinal nerve roots from C1 to S5 were exposed on six adult cadavers. The diameter and the number of nerve fibers of each nerve root were measured, respectively, with a caliper and image analysis software. RESULTS: As for ventral roots, the diameter of C5 (2.50 ± 0.55 mm) was the largest in cervical segments. In thoracic and lumbosacral segments, the diameter gradually increased from T11 to S1 and then decreased from S1 to S5 except L3. S1 (1.43 ± 0.16 mm) was the thickest root and S5 (0.14 ± 0.02 mm) was the thinnest one. As for dorsal roots, the diameter of C7 (4.61 ± 0.87 mm) was the largest in cervical segments. From T11 to S1, the diameter increased and then decreased gradually from S1 to S5. The diameter of dorsal roots from T1 to S5 was largest at S1 (2.95 ± 0.57 mm) and smallest at S5 (0.27 ± 0.13 mm), respectively. C7 (8467 ± 1019), T12 (6538 ± 892), L3 (9169 ± 1160), and S1 (8253 ± 1419) ventral roots contained the most nerve fibers in cervical, thoracic, lumbar, and sacral segments, respectively. Similarly, C7 (39 653 ± 8458), T1 (26 507 ± 7617), L5 (34 455 ± 2740), and S1 (41 543 ± 3036) dorsal roots, respectively, contained the most nerve fibers in their corresponding segments. CONCLUSION: The findings in the current study provided the imperative data and may be valuable for spinal nerve root microanastomosis surgery in the paraplegic patients.

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  • The dorsal roots of the spinal cord contain 1-1.2 million fibers in total, ranging from large, medium, and small myelinated to unmyelinated nerve fibers.

    “The dorsal roots of the spinal cord contain 1-1.2 million fibers in total, ranging from large, medium, and small myelinated to unmyelinated nerve fibers (Ingbert 1903a;Liu et al. 2015).”

    From Tactile innervation densities across the whole body (2020) · cites this paper as Liu et al. 2015

    The Results (Table 1, page unavailable) give dorsal-root fiber counts by spinal segment; summed across both sides, they are broadly consistent with a total near one million, although the paper does not state the claimed 1–1.2 million range. The Results and Discussion mention small-diameter axons but do not classify dorsal-root fibers as large, medium, or small myelinated fibers and unmyelinated fibers. (LLM, conf=0.78)

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Authors
Liu, Y., Zhou, X., Ma, J., Ge, Y., & Cao, X.
Affiliations
  • Jiangsu Province Hospital (CN)
  • Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital (CN)
  • Nanjing Medical University (CN)
Corresponding author
Cao, Xiaojian
ORCID
Venue
The Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Published
2014-03-07
Volume
38
Issue
4
Pages
532-537
ISSN
  • 1079-0268 (ISSN-L)
  • 2045-7723
DOI
10.1179/1079026814z.000000000273
PMC
PMC4612209
OpenAlex
W2062217005
Cited by
62
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 5 · 2015: 3
FWCI
0.74
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (81171694)
  • Government of Jiangsu Province
  • Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pathology and Forensic Medicine › Spinal Cord Injury Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Nerve injury and regeneration
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Nerve Injury and Rehabilitation
Keywords
spinal nerve roots, ventral root, dorsal root, spinal cord segments, paraplegia, cadaveric anatomy
MeSH terms
Adult, Cadaver, Female, Humans, Male, Nerve Fibers, Spinal Nerve Roots

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