Applied Neuroanatomy for Nerve Conduction Studies

A Practical Clinical Guide to Peripheral Nerve Anatomy, Physiology, Techniques and Interpretation
By John Gitonga Miriti

Applied Neuroanatomy for Nerve Conduction Studies is a practical, clinically oriented textbook designed to bridge the gap between neuroanatomy, neurophysiology and the practical performance of nerve conduction studies (NCS).

The book begins with the anatomical and physiological foundations of peripheral nerve function and progressively connects these principles to the electrical responses recorded during electrodiagnostic testing. It explains how electrical stimulation produces action potentials, how impulses travel through peripheral nerves, and how these responses are recorded as compound muscle action potentials (CMAPs), sensory nerve action potentials (SNAPs), F-waves and H-reflexes.

Particular attention is given to the practical components of NCS, including motor, sensory and mixed nerve studies, electrode placement, stimulation technique, latency, amplitude, conduction velocity, duration, area and waveform morphology. The book also emphasizes technical factors that can affect the reliability of measurements, including electrode positioning, stimulus intensity and limb temperature.

A major strength of the book is its emphasis on clinical interpretation. Readers are guided from the basic waveform measurements toward recognition of patterns associated with focal nerve lesions, axonal injury, demyelinating processes and conduction abnormalities.

The book is intended to be useful for clinicians, neurophysiology trainees, students and practitioners developing practical skills in electrodiagnostic medicine. Its approach combines anatomical concepts, physiological principles, technical procedures, worked calculations, clinical correlations and visual learning.

What makes this book different

Rather than presenting NCS as a collection of numbers and waveforms, this book asks the reader to understand what the nerve is doing, why the waveform looks the way it does, how the measurement is obtained, and what the finding means clinically.

Key areas covered

• Applied peripheral nerve anatomy
• Neurophysiology of nerve conduction
• Orthodromic and antidromic conduction
• Motor nerve conduction studies
• Sensory nerve conduction studies
• Mixed nerve studies
• CMAP and SNAP analysis
• Latency and amplitude
• Conduction velocity calculations
• F-waves
• H-reflexes
• Electrode selection and placement
• Stimulation principles
• Temporal dispersion
• Conduction abnormalities
• Axonal and demyelinating patterns
• Technical pitfalls
• Clinical correlation and interpretation

Ultimately, the book aims to take the learner from:

Anatomy → Physiology → Stimulation → Recording → Measurement → Interpretation → Clinical Diagnosis

This makes it not only a reference book, but a practical learning guide for understanding and performing NCS with greater anatomical and physiological confidence.