Morphometric data of canine sacral nerve roots with reference to electrical sacral root stimulation

Experiments to investigate restoration of lower urinary tract control by electrical stimulation of the sacral nerve roots are mostly performed on dogs, yet little morphometric data (such as canine root and fiber diameter distributions) are available. The aim of this study was to acquire morphometric data of the intradural canine sacral dorsal and ventral roots (S1-S3). Cross-sections of sacral roots of two beagle dogs were analyzed using a light microscope and image processing software. The cross-sectional area of each root was measured. The diameters of the fibers and the axons in the cross-sections of the S2 and S3 roots were measured and used to construct nerve fiber diameter frequency distribution histograms. The results show a unimodal diameter distribution for the dorsal roots and a bimodal distribution for the ventral roots. In addition the average ratio g of the axon diameter to fiber diameter was calculated for each root.