[Autotransplantation of previously denervated muscles in the rabbit]

Abstract

Whole gastrocnemius muscles of rabbits, preliminarily denervated, were grafted. At the moment of grafting (60 days after the operation) the muscles were in the state of deep atrophy attended by distrophic changes. The autotransplantated muscles took at the site of grafting, their further reorganization provided progressive development of the muscle tissue within the transplant, its growth, and formation of definitive muscle fibers with nerve terminals. After a definite time some degenerative changes were observed in the transplant muscle tissue; as a result the muscle tissue was substituted by connective tissue. These data support the statement founded before on feasible free grafting of preliminary denervated whole muscles. However, deep denervation atrophy seems to influence the remote results of the transplantation.