PERONEAL PALSY CAUSED BY CROSSING THE LEGS

Abstract

Of the peripheral nerves closest to the surface, least protected and most vulnerable to both acute and chronic trauma, the common peroneal nerve ranks high. Thus, Wilson¹places it second only to the musculospiral and ulnar nerves for frequency of damage, while it stands first in Cassirer's²series of over 1,000 cases. This nerve is particularly susceptible to injury not only where it runs its independent course but even as it runs side by side with the tibial nerve in the sciatic trunk. For example, among 71 cases of wounds of the sciatic nerves studied by Stewart and Evans (quoted by Wilson¹), signs were restricted to the peroneal nerve in 33 cases and in only 3 to the tibial. Between 10 and 15 per cent of all injuries of the peripheral nerves, according to Clark,³involve the common peroneal nerve. Because of its anatomic relationships, the