Abstract

• Objectives
  To develop a proper electrophysiologic techniques for examining the rat femoral nerve.
• Methods
  10 Sprague Dawley rats were use to perform the electrophysiologic study of the exposed femoral nerves by surgical incision. Needle electrodes were used to stimulate the nerves and to obtain the compound nerve action potentials of those nerves.
• Results
  The normal conduction velocity of femoral nerve in this method is 35.4±5.6m/sec and the mean amplitudes of compound nerve action potentials were 40.6±32.8µV. The data of conduction velocity was quite reliable with narrow ranges of standard deviations. But the compound nerve potentials amplitudes data showed wide ranges of variations among individual rats.
• Conclusion
  The techniques and resultion data of femoral verve conduction of rats are described in this article. Even though this technique needs surgical incision exposing the noninvasiveness and rapid healing of the surgical wound in the rats.
  This verve conduction study method of examining femoral nerve in rats is relatively easy, accurate and repeatable techniques that permits visual and microscopic observation of the exposed nerves during the nerve conduction study.
• Keywords: Rat; Nerve conduction study; Femoral nerve