PubMed Health⌕ Search

SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “THORACIC NERVES”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 541 records · Page 30Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

[Four cases of phrenic nerve paralysis following surgery of thoracic esophageal carcinoma].

Four cases of phrenic nerve paralysis (two cases in right side, two cases in bilateral side) were experienced after surgery of thoracic esophageal carcinoma with extended lymph node dissection in neck and upper mediastinum. In all of the four patients, phrenic nerve paralysis was indicated by difficulties in weaning the patients from respirator, and respiratory management was requiring so many effort that the periods under respirator were prolonged from 12 to 41 days, but all patients recovered from phrenic nerve paralysis with conservative therapy and discharged. Vital capacity of the four patients at more than one year after surgery reached more than 75% in three patients and about 65% in one patient in comparison with the preoperative vital capacity, respectively. Therefore, long term result of respiratory function of these patients was not worse than that of patients without phrenic nerve paralysis. Since phrenic nerve is located nearly at the range of lymph node dissection in neck and upper mediastinum, dissection in that range is considered to have relation to injury of the phrenic nerve, but the nerve was not thought to be transected in view of the clinical course of the four patients. Although phrenic nerve paralysis has not been reported as the complication of surgery of esophageal carcinoma, in our department from 1987 it was found in 1.9% of patients who underwent surgery of thoracic esophageal carcinoma and in 16% of patients who underwent extended lymph node dissection. These results suggest the importance of care for the phrenic nerve during surgery of esophageal carcinoma with extended lymph node dissection.

Esophageal Neoplasms↗
PubMed1975

Functional anatomy of canine cardiac nerves.

In 20 anesthetized dogs the thoracic autonomic nerves were carefully exposed in order to determine which produced cardiovascular responses when the afferent or efferent component of each was stimulated. Efferent parasympathetic and sympathetic fibers arise from the caudal cervical ganglion regions bilaterally as well as from the vagus caudally to that ganglion. The majority of negative chromotropic, dromotropic and inotropic fibers arise from the vagus or near the recurrent laryngeal nerves; however, some small parasympathetic fibers also arise from the vagi down to the level of the pulmonary vessels. Efferent sympathetic nerves are relatively large with the exception of the stellate cardiac nerves, and produce specific positive chronotropic or inotropic responses. Afferent fibers are numerous in the recurrent cardiac, innominate, ventromedial and dorsal nerves and not very numerous in both stellate cardiac nerves as well as in the nerves at the level of the pulmonary vessels; thus there are numerous cholinergic and adrenergic efferent fibers which exhibit specific chronotropic or inotropic responses. The correlation between neural anatomy and specific physiological cardiodynamics illustrates beautifully the interrelationship of structure and function which exists within the autonomic nervous system.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Neural mechanisms of the reflex inhibition and excitation of gastric motility elicited by acupuncture-like stimulation in anesthetized rats.

The effects of acupuncture-like stimulation of the various segmental areas on gastric motility were examined in anesthetized rats. An acupuncture needle (diameter 340 microns) was inserted into the skin and underlying muscles at a depth of 4-5 mm and was twisted right and left once every second for 60 s. Gastric motility in the pyloric region was measured with the balloon method. Gastric motility was inhibited by acupuncture-like stimulation applied to the abdomen and lower chest region, and was often excited when the limbs were stimulated, in all cases in which stimuli were delivered to the skin and muscles, the skin alone, and the underlying muscles alone. The inhibitory gastric response to abdominal stimulation was accompanied by an increase in the activity of the gastric sympathetic efferent nerve and was abolished by severance of either the sympathetic nerve branches to the stomach or the lower thoracic spinal nerves. The abdominal stimulation enhanced the activity of the lower thoracic spinal afferent nerves. The excitatory gastric response to hindpaw stimulation was accompanied by an increase in the activity of the gastric vagal efferent nerve and was abolished by severance of either the bilateral vagi or the femoral and sciatic nerves. The hindpaw stimulation enhanced the activity of the femoral and sciatic afferent nerves. In the spinalized animals, the inhibitory gastric response elicited by abdominal stimulation was present, and the hindpaw stimulation did not produce any gastric response. We conclude that the inhibitory gastric response elicited by acupuncture-like stimulation of the abdomen is a reflex response. Its afferent nerve pathway is composed of abdominal cutaneous and muscle afferent nerves, the efferent nerve pathway is the gastric sympathetic nerve, and its reflex center is within the spinal cord. The excitatory gastric response elicited by acupuncture-like stimulation of a hindpaw is also a reflex response. Its afferent nerve pathway is composed of hindpaw cutaneous and muscle afferent nerves, the efferent nerve pathway is the gastric vagal efferent nerve, and its reflex center requires the presence of the brain. Furthermore, the excitatory and the inhibitory gastric reflex responses were not influenced by i.v. administration of naloxone (0.4-4 mg/kg), suggesting that endogenous opioids are not involved in the present reflexes.

Abdomen↗
PubMed1993

Intercostal nerve block, interpleural analgesia, thoracic epidural block or systemic opioid application for pain relief after thoracotomy?

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of different pain-relief methods (regional and systemic) following thoracotomies on the cardiovascular system, pulmonary gas exchange, various endocrine parameters and subjective perception. A further aspect was to evaluate the benefits of interpleural analgesia as a new regional technique against already established regional techniques, such as intercostal nerve block and thoracic epidural block. All postoperative pain methods led to a significant time-dependent reduction of the adrenaline concentrations in plasma while the noradrenaline concentrations did not change significantly. There were no statistical differences in catecholamine concentrations among the different study groups, although the mean concentrations of adrenaline in patients having a thoracic epidural block for pain relief were lower in comparison to the findings in other groups. The plasma concentrations of the "stress metabolites", such as glucose, free fatty acids and lactate, as well as the haemodynamic (mean arterial pressure, heart rate) and pulmonary parameters (blood gas analyses), showed no significant differences among groups. In contrast to the other pain-relieving methods, interpleural analgesia did not lead to sufficient pain relief in that 7 out of 10 patients needed supplementary systemic opioid therapy. Therefore, interpleural analgesia for pain relief following thoracotomies cannot be recommended.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗
PubMed1970

Wasting of the hand associated with a cervical rib or band.

Nine patients are described with unilateral wasting of the hand muscles associated with elongated C7 transverse processes or with rudimentary cervical ribs. In three patients there was selective wasting of the lateral part of the thenar pad, accompanied by mild weakness of the other hand muscles. In four patients all the hand muscles were wasted, but this was more marked in the lateral part of the thenar pad than elsewhere. In two patients wasting was uniformly distributed throughout the hand. Weakness and wasting in the forearm was only present in four patients and was relatively mild. Sensory loss, when present, affected mainly the inner side of the forearm. Nerve conduction studies revealed no abnormality in the distal part of the median nerve, but some patients had reduced or absent sensory action potentials when the fifth finger was stimulated. In all nine patients a sharp fibrous band was found at operation, which extended from an elongated C7 transverse process or from a rudimentary cervical rib to the region of the scalene tubercle on the first rib. The fibrous band caused angulation of the C8 and T1 roots in five patients, and of the lower trunk of the brachial plexus in three. Pathological changes were frequently visible in affected nerves at the site of angulation. Division of the fibrous band relieved pain and paraesthesiae in eight patients and arrested muscle wasting and weakness in nine patients. There was, however, only slight recovery of power in affected muscles; wasting in the hand appeared to be unchanged after periods of up to eight years.

Action Potentials↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Post-thoracotomy intercostal block: comparison of its effects on pulmonary function with those of intramuscular meperidine.

Study of 34 patients who had undergone thoracotomy revealed that the group given intercostal nerve block analgesia had a significantly smaller decline in vital capacity after operation than did the group given narcotic analgesia only. The postoperative increase in arterial CO2 tension of the nerve block group also was significantly smaller than that of the narcotic group. The study suggests that intercostal nerve block for post-thoracotomy analgesia offers some advantage in preserving effort-dependent pulmonary function when compared with postoperative narcotic analgesia.

Anesthesia, Intravenous↗
PubMed1975

Intercostal nerve block for postoperative somatic pain following surgery of thorax and upper abdomen.

From 1948 to 1973, intercostal nerve block was used 10,941 times or a total of approximately 100,000 individual nerves were blocked. Junior staff (residents) performed 95% of the blocks. The local anaesthetic solution of choice used 0.25 or 0.5% bupivacaine (Marcaine) with adrenaline. Total milligram doses of bupivacaine as high as 400 mg were employed. The duration of the blocks was 9-18 hr. No severe systemic toxic reactions occurred, e.g. disorientation, convulsions, etc. The incidence of pneumothorax was 0.073%.

Abdomen↗
PubMed1997

Lectin histochemistry of the metathoracic ganglion of the locust Schistocerca gregaria before and after axotomy of the tympanal nerve.

The thoracic ganglia of insects exhibit a highly ordered organization. It seems possible that the information underlying the emergence of this order during development and its maintenance throughout insect life is given via a distinct pattern of molecules distributed within the ganglion. The question we asked was whether the adult insect ganglion is subdivided by the distribution of specific carbohydrates and furthermore whether or not this distribution changes during degeneration and regeneration of neurons. In order to determine the normal carbohydrate distribution, we stained sections of the intact metathoracic ganglion of the locust Schistocerca gregaria with fluorescence-coupled lectins. We succeeded in labeling three sensory neuropil areas with either peanut agglutinin (PNA): Phaseolus vulgaris erythrolectin (PVE), soybean agglutinin, wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), or Vicia villosa agglutinin. Apart from this, PNA, WGA, and succinylated WGA also selectively labeled some neuronal cell bodies, including dorsal unpaired median neurons. Datura stramonium lectin (DSL), Griffonia simplicifolia lectin II, and Solanum tuberosum lectin (STL) bound to glial cells or glia surrounding extracellular matrix. A few lectins stained all structures within the ganglion; some showed no binding at all. In the second part of our study, we tested whether carbohydrates were differentially regulated during transient deafferentation after the axotomy of the tympanal nerve. Binding of PNA and PVE within the auditory neuropil did not change. However, binding of the two glia-associated markers, DSL and STL, clearly differed from that found in intact animals; they bound transiently (day 3-4 until day 10-20 post-surgery) to axonal tracts and neuropils of the axotomized sensory afferents.

Afferent Pathways↗
PubMed2002

Adrenal splanchnic innervation modulates adrenal cortical responses to dehydration stress in rats.

Classically, the production of glucocorticoids by the adrenal gland is thought to be controlled exclusively by adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). However, there are several examples in stressed humans and animals of increased plasma glucocorticoids in the absence of increased plasma ACTH, suggesting that an additional, non-ACTH mechanism(s) may contribute to the control of glucocorticoid production. The present studies were designed to determine the role of the thoracic splanchnic nerve in controlling plasma corticosterone levels in response to chronic water deprivation in rats, a model previously reported to demonstrate dissociations between plasma corticosterone and ACTH. Briefly, rats underwent right unilateral adrenalectomy and left thoracic splanchnic nerve transection or sham transection. After recovery, rats were water deprived for 48 h or given free access to water, and then sacrificed for collection of plasma and adrenal glands. Water deprivation resulted in consistent, robust increases in plasma corticosterone that were attenuated by splanchnic nerve transection, in the absence of changes in post-dehydration plasma ACTH. Adrenal content of steroidogenic acute regulatory factor (StAR) and cyclic AMP (cAMP) were increased after dehydration; splanchnic nerve transection decreased post-dehydration adrenal cAMP, but not StAR. Splanchnic nerve transection also attenuated plasma corticosterone responses to submaximal doses of ACTH in dexamethasone-blocked, dehydrated rats, suggesting a decreased adrenal sensitivity to ACTH. Collectively, the present results demonstrate that the thoracic splanchnic nerve normally augments the adrenal corticosterone response to dehydration stress by increasing adrenal sensitivity to ACTH, and this augmentation is associated with elevations in adrenal cAMP content. These data support the hypothesis that the splanchnic innervation of the adrenal gland represents an additional physiological mechanism to control stress-induced adrenal cortical responses in vivo.

Adrenal Glands↗
PubMed2003

Efficient reinnervation of hindlimb muscles by thoracic motor neurons after nerve cross-anastomosis in rats.

OBJECT: Peripheral motor axons can regenerate through motor endoneurial tubes of foreign nerves to reinnervate different target muscles. This regenerative capacity has been brought to clinical applications for restorative surgery after nerve or root injury. In this study the authors explore the extent to which nerve cross-anastomosis between lower intercostal nerves and lumbar ventral roots would be effective in inducing reinnervation of paralyzed hindlimb muscles after spinal cord hemisection at the thoracolumbar boundary in rats. METHODS: The proximal extremities of sectioned intercostal nerves T10-12 were surgically connected to the distal extremities of sectioned ipsilateral lumbar ventral roots L3-5, respectively. Motor activity reappeared 2 months postsurgery; however, locomotion was not restored and inappropriate motor patterns persisted at 9 months postsurgery. At that time, data from electrophysiological and histological studies and horseradish peroxidase retrograde labeling demonstrated efficient regrowth of thoracic motor neuron axons that reached hindlimb muscles. They also revealed a persistent maturation defect of regrown fibers, as shown by size heterogeneity and presumable extensive axonal branching. These features are consistent with reduced neural activity subsequent to continuing inappropriate motor patterns. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that cross-anastomosis of intercostal nerves with lumbar ventral roots allows efficient reinnervation of paralyzed hindlimb muscles after spinal cord hemisection in rats. Stimulating the reorganization of the neuronal circuitry in the central nervous system by locomotion training or other methods would presumably result in both functional and anatomical improvements. This experimental setting provides a convenient animal model to investigate these processes.

Anastomosis, Surgical↗
PubMed1989

[A study of autonomic nerve dysfunction in patients with thoracic outlet syndrome].

The function of the autonomic nerve system in sixty-seven patients with thoracic outlet syndrome was examined by a non-invasive and quantitative technique assessing the mean (M) and coefficient of variation (CV) or R-R interval in ECG. The first group of patients (28 cases) with autonomic nervous disorder and complaints of general discomfort showed a significantly shorter M and smaller CV. The second group (39 cases), those without general discomfort, exhibited a normal range of M and CV. In four of the first group with the diagnosis of schizophrenia and anxiety neurosis, furthermore, M and CV were nearly the same as those in the second group. In eight of the first group undergoing decompression operation, their complaints decreased or disappeared after surgery, with recovery of M and CV almost to the normal level. According to these results, this method appears to be useful in differentiating between autonomic nervous disorders and psychological disorders, facilitating disappearance of general discomfort due to autonomic nervous disorders.

Adolescent↗