Labeled motor neurons following single and double nerve reinnervation of the long head of the biceps

We developed a novel rat model to investigate the neurophysiological
effects of peripheral double nerve transfers to a single target
muscle. In 62 male Sprague-Dawley rats the ulnar nerve of the
antebrachium alone (n=30) or together with the anterior interosseus nerve
(n=32) was transferred to reinnervate the long head of the biceps brachii.
To further assess reinnervation, retrograde labeling was performed. Twelve
weeks following surgery retrograde tracer dyes were injected
in the long head of the biceps muscle to stain the
reinnervating motoneurons. In 7 control animals, the number of innervating
motorneurons was assessed by injecting retrograde tracer in the untreated
long head of the biceps. The aim of this dataset was to compare the
effects of single nerve transfer and double nerve transfer on motor neuron
count.