PROCAINE NERVE BLOCK IN THE INVESTIGATION OF PERIPHERAL NERVE INJURIES.

Abstract

DURING the past two years at the Oxford Peripheral Nerve Injury Centre I have found that a great deal of information may be gained by the simple procedure of anxsthetizing peripheral nerves with procaine. The procedure is not original-it has been employed by J. C. White in the investigation of peripheral vascular disorders, and by Woollard in the investigation of sensory dissociation. I have employed nerve blocks in over fifty cases and have succeeded in establishing a satisfactory technique. In no case has there been evidence that the procedure is harmful. Nerve block has been used in the following investigations: 1. Anomalous innervation of muscles. 2. " Supplementary" and Trick movements. 3. Sensory and sudomotor distribution of peripheral nerves, in relation to the differentiation of complete and incomplete or recovering lesions. 4. The vasomotor distribution of peripheral nerves.