The endoneurium, also referred to as an endoneurial channel, sheath or tube, is a layer of delicate connective tissue made up of endoneurial cells that encloses the myelin sheath of a spinal cord nerve fiber. [1] These are bundled up into groups called nerve fascicles, which have a protective sheath called a perineurium. Several fascicles may be in turn bundled together with a blood supply and fatty tissue within yet another sheath, the epineurium. The endoneurium contains a low protein liquid known as endoneurial fluid that is the peripheral nervous system equivalent to cerebro-spinal fluid in the central nervous system. Peripheral nerve injuries can be identified by checking for increased amounts of endoneurial fluid using magnetic resonance neurography.
It is continuous with septa which pass inward from the innermost layer of the perineurium, and shows a ground substance in which are imbedded fine bundles of fibrous connective tissue, primarily collagen, running for the most part longitudinally. It serves to support capillary blood vessels, arranged so as to form a network with elongated meshes. It is found in other places too, such as surrounding the Schwann cells on the peripheral side of the transitional zone on the auditory nerve.[2]
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[edit] References
- ^ Elaine N. Marieb and Katja Hoehn (2007). Human Anatomy & Physiology (7th Ed.). Pearson. pp. 498–9. ISBN 0-805-35909-5.
- ^ Fraher JP (2000). "The transitional zone and CNS regeneration". J. Anat. 196 (1): 137–58. PMID 10697296.
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