Three-dimensional reconstruction of rabbit sciatic nerve bundles based on micro-computed tomography

Abstract

Objective To reconstruct the three-dimensional microstructure of the New Zealand rabbit sciatic nerve bundle by Micro-CT. Methods Sciatic nerve tissue were harvested from New Zealand rabbits and placed into 1% (Group A), 5% (Group B) Lugol’s solution respectively, The 2 Groups were evaluated under microscope and Micro-CT at different time 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5 h. Nerve data from Micro-CT were imported to the Mimics software to calculated 3D digital model. Results The conditions for sciatic nerve have a better display quality under Micro-CT were 1% concentration and 2.5 h staining time. The sciatic nerve of New Zealand rabbits divides into 3 bundles and the average cross-sectional area were 0.425, 0.038, 0.242 mm2. The pathways of 3 nerve bundles were relatively fixed, no obviously crossing and mergers shown. Conclusion The sciatic nerve of New Zealand rabbits stained by Lugol’s solution can reflect the internal structure clearly by Micro-CT scanning. And these finding may provide a new method to observe three-dimensional construction of peripheral nerves. Key words: Micro-computed tomography; Rabbit sciatic nerve; Microstructure; Three-dimensional visualization