Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2010 May;28(5):652-6.
doi: 10.1002/jor.21037.

Comparative study of carpal tunnel compliance in the human, dog, rabbit, and rat

Wen-Lin Tung  1 , Chunfeng Zhao, Yuichi Yoshii, Fong-Chin Su, Kin-Nan An, Peter C Amadio
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Comparative study of carpal tunnel compliance in the human, dog, rabbit, and rat

Wen-Lin Tung et al. J Orthop Res. 2010 May.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to measure the compliance of the carpal tunnel in candidate animal models of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), by measuring the resistance when passing a tapered metal rod through the carpal tunnel. Forepaws from 10 dogs, 10 rabbits, and 10 rats with intact carpal tunnels, and 10 fresh frozen human wrist cadavers were used. The slopes of the linear part of the force-displacement curve (a measure of stiffness), normal force, and increasing area ratio (InAR) were significantly different among the four species (p<0.05). Post hoc analysis indicated that the mean slopes for the human carpal tunnel were the largest, indicating the least compliance, whereas those of the rat were the least (p<0.05). The features of the compliance for the dog carpal tunnel were closest to the human. The development of animal models of CTS should consider the compliance of the carpal tunnel, as it will be more difficult to increase pressure in a more compliant tunnel.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Carpal tunnel ligaments in the (A) human, (B) dog, (C) rabbit and (D) rat with the each individual tapered testing rod.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The experimental set up for carpal tunnel compliance measurement. The device includes 1) mechanical actuator with linear potentiometer and load transducer; 2) cable between mechanical actuator and tapered rod; 3) specimen with transverse carpal tunnel ligament; 4) tapered metal rod; and 5) testing frame. The arrow showed the direction of the actuator pulled the metal rod through the carpal tunnel from proximal to distal. (B) The starting position of the metal rod. (C) The final position of the metal rod.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The tapered metal rods for the four specimens. The tangent of the angle of slope θ of the taper was 0.1.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Relationship between the original and normal forces on the wall of carpal tunnel.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Slopes of linear part of the curves from (A) original force vs. displacement of the rod; (B) normal force vs. InAR. (*p<0.05, significant difference)
Figure 6
Figure 6
Comparing the linear part of the curves among four species, showing the relationship between increasing area ratio and normalized force unit among the four species. Normalized force unit for increasing area ratio was defined as the normal force which increased the rat area by 50%.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Mani L, Gerr F. Work-related upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders. Prim Care. 2000;27:845–864. - PubMed
    1. Michelsen H, Posner MA. Medical history of carpal tunnel syndrome. Hand Clin. 2002;18:257–268. - PubMed
    1. Atroshi I, Gummesson C, Johnsson R, et al. Prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome in a general population. JAMA. 1999;282:153–158. - PubMed
    1. Hagberg M, Morgenstern H, Kelsh M. Impact of occupations and job tasks on the prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome. Scand J Work Environ Health. 1992;18:337–345. - PubMed
    1. Nordstrom DL, Vierkant RA, DeStefano F, Layde PM. Risk factors for carpal tunnel syndrome in a general population. Occup Environ Med. 1997;54:734–740. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types