The innervation of the ankle joint. An anatomical and histological study in the cat

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Abstract
The innervation of 59 ankle joints in 34 mature cats was studied by macro- and microdis-section, and neurohistologically with gold chloride, methylene blue and paraffin and frozen silver techniques. The posterior joint capsule had the densest innervation from articular branches of the long saphenous, posterior interosseous, and anterior and posterior tibial nerves and of the nerve to the flexor digitorum muscle. The anterior capsule is supplied from the anterior-tibial nerve, the medical capsule from the posterior tibial nerve, and the lateral capsule by twigs reaching it from the anterior and posterior regions of the joint. Four varieties (Types, I, II, III and IV) of nerve endings in the joint tissues are supplied by the articular nerves. Type I corpuscles are low threshold slowly-adapting mechanoreceptors confined to the superficial layers of the fibrous joint capsule. Type II corpuscles are more numerous, and are low threshold rapidly-adapting mechanoreceptors present in the superficial and deep layers of the fibrous capsule, and in the posterior articular fat pad. Type III corpuscles are very high threshold mechanoreceptors resembling tendon organs of Golgi, and are confined to the joint ligaments. Type IV endings consist of fine plexuses in the fibrous capsule and fat pad, and in the walls of the articular blood vessels and of free nerve endings in the ligaments, that provide the pain receptor system of the joint. No nerve endings of any type are present in the synovial tissue.

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