The perineurium is a protective sheath that surrounds a

nerve fascicle A nerve fascicle, is a bundle of nerve fibers belonging to a nerve in the peripheral nervous system. A nerve fascicle is also called a fasciculus. A nerve fascicle is enclosed by perineurium, a layer of fascial connective tissue. Each enclosed ...

. This bundles together

axons An axon (from Greek ἄξων ''áxōn'', axis), or nerve fiber (or nerve fibre: see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, spelling differences), is a long, slender projection of a nerve cell, or neuron, in vertebrates, th ...

targeting the same anatomical location. The perineurium is composed from

fibroblasts A fibroblast is a type of biological cell that synthesizes the extracellular matrix and collagen, produces the structural framework ( stroma) for animal tissues, and plays a critical role in wound healing. Fibroblasts are the most common cells o ...

. In the

peripheral nervous system The peripheral nervous system (PNS) is one of two components that make up the nervous system of bilateral animals, with the other part being the central nervous system (CNS). The PNS consists of nerves and ganglia, which lie outside the brain ...

, the

myelin sheath Myelin is a lipid-rich material that surrounds nerve cell axons (the nervous system's "wires") to insulate them and increase the rate at which electrical impulses (called action potentials) are passed along the axon. The myelinated axon can be l ...

of each axon in a nerve is wrapped in a delicate protective sheath known as the

endoneurium The endoneurium (also called endoneurial channel, endoneurial sheath, endoneurial tube, or Henle's sheath) is a layer of delicate connective tissue around the myelin sheath of each myelinated nerve fiber in the peripheral nervous system. Its comp ...

. Fascicles, bundles of

neurons A neuron, neurone, or nerve cell is an electrically excitable cell that communicates with other cells via specialized connections called synapses. The neuron is the main component of nervous tissue in all animals except sponges and placozoa. N ...

, are surrounded by the perineurium. Several fascicles may be in turn bundled together with a

blood supply The blood circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the entire body of a human or other vertebrate. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, tha ...

and

fatty tissue Adipose tissue, body fat, or simply fat is a loose connective tissue composed mostly of adipocytes. In addition to adipocytes, adipose tissue contains the stromal vascular fraction (SVF) of cells including preadipocytes, fibroblasts, vascular e ...

within yet another sheath, the

epineurium The epineurium is the outermost layer of dense irregular connective tissue surrounding a peripheral nerve. It usually surrounds multiple nerve fascicles as well as blood vessels which supply the nerve. Smaller branches of these blood vessels p ...

. This grouping structure is analogous to the muscular organization system of

epimysium Epimysium (plural ''epimysia'') (Greek ''epi-'' for on, upon, or above + Greek ''mys'' for muscle) is the fibrous tissue envelope that surrounds skeletal muscle. It is a layer of dense irregular connective tissue which ensheaths the entire muscle ...

perimysium Perimysium is a sheath of connective tissue that groups muscle fibers into bundles (anywhere between 10 and 100 or more) or fascicles. Studies of muscle physiology suggest that the perimysium plays a role in transmitting lateral contractile ...

and

endomysium The endomysium, meaning ''within the muscle'', is a wispy layer of areolar connective tissue that ensheaths each individual Skeletal muscle#Skeletal muscle fibers, muscle fiber, or muscle cell. It also contains capillaries and nerves. It overlies ...

Structure

The perineurium is composed of

connective tissue Connective tissue is one of the four primary types of animal tissue, along with epithelial tissue, muscle tissue, and nervous tissue. It develops from the mesenchyme derived from the mesoderm the middle embryonic germ layer. Connective tiss ...

, which has a distinctly

lamellar A ''lamella'' (plural ''lamellae'') is a small plate or flake, from the Latin, and may also be used to refer to collections of fine sheets of material held adjacent to one another, in a gill-shaped structure, often with fluid in between though s ...

arrangement consisting of one to several

concentric In geometry, two or more objects are said to be concentric, coaxal, or coaxial when they share the same center or axis. Circles, regular polygons and regular polyhedra, and spheres may be concentric to one another (sharing the same center point ...

layers. The perineurium is composed of perineurial cells, which are epithelioid

myofibroblasts A myofibroblast is a cell phenotype that was first described as being in a state between a fibroblast and a smooth muscle cell. Structure Myofibroblasts are contractile web-like fusiform cells that are identifiable by their expression of α-sm ...

. Perineurial cells are sometimes referred to as myoepithelioid due to their epithelioid and myofibroblastoid properties including

tight junctions Tight junctions, also known as occluding junctions or ''zonulae occludentes'' (singular, ''zonula occludens''), are multiprotein junctional complexes whose canonical function is to prevent leakage of solutes and water and seals between the epith ...

gap junctions Gap junctions are specialized intercellular connections between a multitude of animal cell-types. They directly connect the cytoplasm of two cells, which allows various molecules, ions and electrical impulses to directly pass through a regulate ...

external laminae External lamina is a structure similar to basal lamina that surrounds the sarcolemma of muscle cells. It is secreted by myocytes and consists primarily of Collagen type IV, laminin and perlecan (heparan sulfate proteoglycan). Nerve cells, includin ...

and contractility. The tight junctions provide selective barrier to chemical substances. The perineurium is a smooth, transparent tubular membrane which may be easily separated from the fibers it encloses. In contrast, the epineurium is a tough and mechanically resistant tissue which is not easily penetrated by a needle.

Clinical importance

The perineurium, as the epineurium, has a clinical importance following a trauma, like a fracture. A sort of lesion called

axonotmesis Axonotmesis is an injury to the peripheral nerve of one of the extremities of the body. The axons and their myelin sheath are damaged in this kind of injury, but the endoneurium, perineurium and epineurium remain intact. Motor and sensory functions ...

can happen, where the axon of the nerve is damaged while the integrity of the perineurium and epineurium is preserved. In that case, they will be a loss of neural transmission which will be causing a diminished response in the distal part of the nerve. The axon will be able to regenerate itself at a rate of 3 cm per month, generally indicating a return to a physiological state in roughly three months.

References

External links

* - "Peripheral nerve" * - "PNS, nerve (LM, Low)" *
Diagram at Howard

Histology at ucla.edu
{{Authority control Neurohistology

Structure

Clinical importance

See also

References

External links