ANATOMICAL VARIATIONS IN A FINITE ELEMENT NERVE MODEL OF THE HUMAN FOOT

Abstract

The nerves in the foot offer a significant role in controlling the movement and correct loading of the foot by providing continuous feedback to the central nervous system. The health importance in the anatomical variations of nerves, such as the locations, the lengths, the communicating branches, and the distance between the adjacent nerve terminals between individuals have given prominence to anatomists as well as physiologists. A previously developed one-dimensional (1D) model of the nerve was extended to determine different anatomical variations in the nerves of the foot, as a realistic anatomical-based variant nerve model of the human foot is not available. The model was verified against experimental data from the literature for communicating branches and distances of various area of the human foot. For instance, the simulated distances of the communicating branches of the plantar nerves and medial dorsal cutaneous nerve (MDCN) division proximal to the first digital space were found to be 43.3 mm and 112.3 mm, respectively, which was in general agreement with the experimental distances of 8-56 mm and 96-116.74 mm, respectively. The developed nerve variant model provides a platform for future studies of the various geometrical and efficient concerns of neurovascular diseases such as diabetic neuropathies by determining the parameters of nerve conduction studies.