Fusiform Sweilings on the Terminal Portions of Peripheral Nerves

Twenty specimens of the lateral branch of the deep peroneal nerve were dissected from 20 bodies in the course of routine post mortem examinations. In 11 of these bodies, a portion of the medial branch of the deep peroneal nerve was also removed. In addition, several specimens of fusiform swelling were taken from cadavers, 2 from the dorsal interosseous nerve, and 1 from the medial plantar nerve. All specimens were between 1 and 2 em. in length. The specimens were fixed, imbedded in paraffin, and sectioned. In many of the specimens, sections were taken at intervals of 3 to 4 mm. throughout the length of the nerve sample. One specimen was sectioned serially for a distance of 4.5 mm. All sections so prepared were stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin, and in 2 cases, sections neighboring these were stained with Masson trichrome stain, or a silver stain. All sections were examined microscopically and measurements were taken, where required, with an ocular micrometer. ' RESULTS