Marinozzi G, Ferrante F, Gaudio E, Ricci A, Amenta F
Istituto Superiore di Educazione Fisica Statale (ISEF), Roma, Italia.
Acta Anat (Basel). 1991;141(1):8-14. doi: 10.1159/000147091.
In spite of the practical importance of having a detailed knowledge of knee joint innervation to understand the pathophysiologic aspects, little information is now available concerning the density and pattern of the nerve fibres which are distributed to it. The present study has been designed to investigate the density and distribution of nerve fibres and receptor corpuscles in the knee joint articular capsule, cruciate and collateral ligaments in the rat, using the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) histochemical in toto staining technique. The investigation was performed on male Wistar rats of 3 months of age, some of which had been treated with capsaicin to deplete their afferent 'C' fibres of their content of neuropeptides. AChE-positive nerve fibres and different types of receptor corpuscle endings were found within articular capsule and ligaments. The highest density of AChE-positive nerve fibres was noticeable in the fibular collateral ligament followed by the tibial collateral ligament, the posterior cruciate ligament, the anterior cruciate ligament and the articular capsule. In the articular capsule the number of type I endings was higher than in the ligaments. The opposite is true for the other type of receptor corpuscles found as well as for nerve endings. Capsaicin treatment significantly reduced the density of AChE-positive nerve fibres in knee joint ligaments but did not affect nerve fibres in the articular capsule. Moreover, it caused the disappearance of some kind of receptor corpuscles within the collateral and cruciate ligaments. The above data collectively suggest that the AChE in toto staining technique may represent a good method for investigating joint innervation and that a significant percentage of nerve fibres supplying knee joint ligaments is represented by C fibre afferents.
尽管详细了解膝关节神经支配对于理解病理生理方面具有实际重要性，但目前关于分布于膝关节的神经纤维密度和模式的信息却很少。本研究旨在利用乙酰胆碱酯酶（AChE）全组织化学染色技术，研究大鼠膝关节关节囊、十字韧带和侧副韧带中神经纤维和感受器小体的密度及分布。研究选用3月龄雄性Wistar大鼠，其中部分大鼠已用辣椒素处理，以耗尽其传入“C”纤维中的神经肽含量。在关节囊和韧带内发现了AChE阳性神经纤维和不同类型的感受器小体末端。AChE阳性神经纤维密度最高的是腓侧副韧带，其次是胫侧副韧带、后交叉韧带、前交叉韧带和关节囊。在关节囊中，I型末端的数量高于韧带。对于发现的其他类型的感受器小体以及神经末梢来说情况则相反。辣椒素处理显著降低了膝关节韧带中AChE阳性神经纤维的密度，但不影响关节囊中的神经纤维。此外，它还导致侧副韧带和交叉韧带内某种感受器小体消失。上述数据共同表明，AChE全组织染色技术可能是研究关节神经支配的一种好方法，并且供应膝关节韧带的神经纤维中有相当比例是由C纤维传入的。
