Skip to main content
PMC home page
Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry logoLink to Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry
. 1971 Jun;34(3):243–252. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.34.3.243

Sensory conduction from digit to palm and from palm to wrist in the carpal tunnel syndrome

Fritz Buchthal 1,2, Annelise Rosenfalck 1,2
PMCID: PMC1083459  PMID: 5571311

Abstract

In normal subjects the maximum and minimum conduction velocity along sensory nerve was the same from digit to palm and from palm to wrist. Severe slowing from palm to wrist in patients with the carpal tunnel syndrome was often associated with only slight slowing from digit to palm. The distal slowing is attributed to a reversible constriction of nerve fibres, an assumption supported by the recovery in distal conduction velocity as early as two and a half months after decompression. The sensory velocity from wrist to elbow was normal or supernormal, whereas the motor velocity was often slightly decreased. The exclusion of the normal segment of the median nerve distal to the flexor retinaculum made it possible to demonstrate abnormalities across the flexor retinaculum in patients with clinical signs of carpal tunnel syndrome in whom distal motor latency and sensory conduction from digit to wrist were normal.

Full text

PDF
250

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. EBELING P., GILLIATT R. W., THOMAS P. K. A clinical and electrical study of ulnar nerve lesions in the hand. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1960 Feb;23:1–9. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.23.1.1. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Fullerton P. M., Gilliatt R. W. Median and ulnar neuropathy in the guinea-pig. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1967 Oct;30(5):393–402. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.30.5.393. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. GILLIATT R. W., SEARS T. A. Sensory nerve action potentials in patients with peripheral nerve lesions. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1958 May;21(2):109–118. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.21.2.109. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Johnson R. K., Shrewsbury M. M. Anatomical course of the thenar branch of the median nerve--usually in a separate tunnel through the transverse carpal ligament. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 1970 Mar;52(2):269–273. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. KAESER H. E. DIAGNOSTISCHE PROBLEME BEIM KARPALTUNNELSYNDROM. Dtsch Z Nervenheilkd. 1963 Nov 7;185:453–470. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Lamontagne A., Buchthal F. Electrophysiological studies in diabetic neuropathy. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1970 Aug;33(4):442–452. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.33.4.442. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Lehmann H. J., Pretschner D. P. Experimentelle Untersuchungen zum Engpasssyndrom peripherer Nerven. Dtsch Z Nervenheilkd. 1966 May 6;188(4):308–330. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. McLeod J. G. Digital nerve conduction in the carpal tunnel syndrome after mechanical stimulation of the finger. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1966 Feb;29(1):12–22. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.29.1.12. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Payan J. Electrophysiological localization of ulnar nerve lesions. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1969 Jun;32(3):208–220. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.32.3.208. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. ROBBINS H. ANATOMICAL STUDY OF THE MEDIAN NERVE IN THE CARPAL TUNNEL AND ETIOLOGIES OF THE CARPAL-TUNNEL SYNDROME. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 1963 Jul;45:953–966. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. RUSHTON W. A. H. The site of excitation in the nerve trunk of the frog. J Physiol. 1949 Sep;109(3-4):314–326. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1949.sp004395. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. SIMPSON J. A. Electrical signs in the diagnosis of carpal tunnel and related syndromes. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1956 Nov;19(4):275–280. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.19.4.275. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. THOMAS P. K., FULLERTON P. M. NERVE FIBRE SIZE IN THE CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1963 Dec;26:520–527. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.26.6.520. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. THOMAS P. K. Motor nerve conduction in the carpal tunnel syndrome. Neurology. 1960 Dec;10:1045–1050. doi: 10.1212/wnl.10.12.1045. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Thomas J. E., Lambert E. H., Cseuz K. A. Electrodiagnostic aspects of the carpal tunnel syndrome. Arch Neurol. 1967 Jun;16(6):635–641. doi: 10.1001/archneur.1967.00470240073010. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. WEISS P., CAVANAUGH M. W. Further evidence of perpetual growth of nerve fibers: recovery of fiber diameter after the release of prolonged constrictions. J Exp Zool. 1959 Oct-Dec;142:461–473. doi: 10.1002/jez.1401420121. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Wiederholt W. C. Median nerve conduction velocity in sensory fibers through carpal tunnel. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 1970 Jun;51(6):328–330. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES