Neuromuscular pathology

Neuromuscular pathology is the study of muscle and neural-muscle pathologies.

Muscle pathology is dealt together with neurologic disease as, at the presentation, they after not infrequently not possible to definitely distinguish.

Work-up

Clinical history, including family history.
Laboratory studies, e.g. CK.
Nerve conduction and electromyography studies.
Muscle biopsy.

Patterns

Overview

Neuromuscular
pathology

Neurogenic

Myogenic

Other/Mixed

	Neurogenic	Myogenic	Notes	Image
Shape of fibres	angulated	round		round fibres^[1]
Small fibres	groups ("group atrophy")	singular		group atrophy^[2]
Large fibres	No	+/-Scattered		DMD (WC)

List

Neurogenic:

Angulated myocytes.
Groups of small fibres.
Apparent increase of nuclei.

Myogenic:

Round myocytes.
+/-Intense (darker) cytoplasm.
+/-Fibrosis (between fibres).
+/-Necrosis.

Detail

Segmental demyelination - nerve/CNS abnormality.
Axonal degeneration - nerve/CNS abnormality.
Reinnervation - nerve injury.
Myopathy - something is wrong with the muscle fibres.

Muscle anatomy

Organization:^[3]

Muscle.
- Fascicle.

References

↑ URL: http://nmdinfo.org/lectures/info.php?id=8. Accessed on: 25 October 2010.
↑ URL: http://neuropathology.neoucom.edu/chapter9/chapter9fALS.html. Accessed on: 25 October 2010.
↑ URL: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Skeletal_muscle.jpg. Accessed on: 25 October 2010.

[1] URL: http://nmdinfo.org/lectures/info.php?id=8. Accessed on: 25 October 2010.

[2] URL: http://neuropathology.neoucom.edu/chapter9/chapter9fALS.html. Accessed on: 25 October 2010.

[3] URL: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Skeletal_muscle.jpg. Accessed on: 25 October 2010.

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