The sciatic nerve is the longest and widest single nerve in the human body. This new book presents current research in the study of the sciatic nerve. Topics discussed include the pathophysiology of sciatic pain induced by lumbar disc herniation; conduction blocks by receptor agonists in the sciatic nerve; pharmacological research of traditional medicines with analgesic effects on sciatic nerve and inflammatory cytokines in repair and regeneration of the sciatic nerve.

Chapter 1 - Different Approaches in Improving Regeneration of Peripheral Nerve Lesions using the Experimental Model of the Sciatic Nerve of the Rat pp. 1-38
Authors / Editors: (Bernardo Hontanilla, Cristina Auba, Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Clinica Universidad de Navarra, Palmplona, Spain)

Chapter 2 - Discogenic Sciatica: Epidemiology, Etiology, Diagnosis, and Management pp. 39-66
Authors / Editors: (Vafa Rahimi-Movaghar, Mohammad Reza Rasouli, Mahdi Sharif-Alhoseini, Seyed Behzad Jazayeri, Alexander R. Vaccaro, Sina Trauma and Surgery Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, and others)


Chapter 3 - Pathophysiology of Sciatic Pain Induced by Lumbar Disc Herniation pp. 67-98
Authors / Editors: (Shigeru Kobayashi, Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan)

Chapter 4 - The Sciatic Nerve as Experimental Target to Study Peripheral Neuropathic Pain pp. 99-116
Authors / Editors: (Elisa Borsani, Rita Rezzani, Luigi F. Rodella, Division of Human Anatomy, Department of Biomedical Sciences and Biotechnologies, Brescia University, Brescia, Italy)

Chapter 5 - Magnetic Measurements of Nerve Function Using a Current Probe pp. 117-136
Authors / Editors: (Ranjith S. Wijesinghe, Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana)

Chapter 6 - Conduction Block by Neurotransmitter Receptor and TRP Channel Agonists in the Sciatic Nerve pp. 137-156
Authors / Editors: (Eiichi Kumamoto, Kotaro Mizuta, Daisuke Tomohiro, and Tsugumi Fujita, Department of Physiology, Saga Medical School, 5-1-1 Nabeshima, Saga 849-8501, Japan)

Chapter 7 - Retrograde Axonal Tracing using Manganese Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging pp. 157-174
Authors / Editors: (Ken Matsuda, Gary F. Egan, Department of Plastic Surgery, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka, Japan)

Chapter 8 - The Effect of Sciatic Nerve Injury on Capillary Network Anatomy in Skeletal Muscle pp. 175-184
Authors / Editors: (Ida Er en, Institute of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Ljubljana, Slovenia)

Chapter 9 - Inflammatory Cytokines in Degeneration, Regeneration and Maintenance of Sciatic Nerve pp. 185-208
Authors / Editors: (Shigeru Yokoyama, Department of Biophysical Genetics, Kanazawa University, Graduate School of Medicine, Kanazawa, Japan)

Chapter 10 - Experimental Approaches on Tissue Engineering Repair of Peripheral Nerve Gaps pp. 209-224
Authors / Editors: (Kirsten Haastert-Talini, Hannover Medical School, Institute of Neuroanatomy, Hannover, Germany)

Chapter 11 - Clinical Localization of Sciatic Nerve Lesions pp. 225-242
Authors / Editors: (Cory Toth, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada)

Chapter 12 - Effect of Stimulation and Elimination of Non-Myelinated C Fibers in the Sciatic Nerves pp. 243-258
Authors / Editors: (Bai Chuang Shyu, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan)

Chapter 13 - Ultrasound Guided Sciatic Nerve Blockage pp. 259-274
Authors / Editors: (Michael Barrington, Jason Ivanusic, FANZCA, Dept. of Anesthesia St. Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne VIC, Australia, and others)