A nerve biopsy is the removal of a small piece of a nerve for examination.
A nerve biopsy is most often done on a nerve in the ankle, forearm, or along a rib.
The health care provider will apply medicine to numb the area before the procedure. The doctor makes a small surgical cut and removes a piece of the nerve. The nerve sample is sent to a lab, where it is examined under a microscope.
There is no special preparation.
When the numbing medicine (local anesthetic) is injected, you will feel a prick and a mild sting. The biopsy site will be sore for a few days after the test.
Nerve biopsy may be done to help diagnose:
Additional conditions under which the test may be performed:
A normal result means the nerve appears normal.
Note: Normal value ranges may vary slightly among different laboratories. Talk to your doctor about the meaning of your specific test results.
Abnormal results may be due to:
Nerve biopsy is invasive and is useful only in certain situations. Talk to your doctor about your options.
Biopsy - nerve
Shy ME. Peripheral neuropathies. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier. 2007: chap 446.
Vallat, JM, Funalot, B, and Magy, L. Nerve biopsy: requirements for diagnosis and clinical value. Acta Neuropathol 2011, 121: 313-326.
Updated by: Luc Jasmin, MD, PhD, FRCS (C), FACS, Department of Neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles CA; Department of Surgery at Los Robles Hospital, Thousand Oaks CA; Department of Surgery at Ashland Community Hospital, Ashland OR; Department of Surgery at Cheyenne Regional Medical Center, Cheyenne WY; Department of Anatomy at UCSF, San Francisco CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Bethanne Black, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
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