Carlson B M, Foster A H, Bader D M, Hník P, Vejsada R
Experientia. 1983 Feb 15;39(2):171-2. doi: 10.1007/BF01958882.
A rat muscle freely grafted with the motor nerve intact becomes restored to full mass and contractile function, in contrast to the reduced weight of a standard free graft. By crushing the nerve to a nerve-intact graft and delaying reinnervation, full mass is still restored. One can conclude that earlier reinnervation is not the reason for the success of nerve-intact grafts, but that it is rather due to reinnervation along preserved Schwann cell channels.
