The topographical features and variations of nervus ischiadicus in human fetuses

We aimed to investigate the topographical features and variations of ischiadic nerve during prenatal period in human. Our study was conducted on lower extremities of 34 human fetal cadavers who were free of any anomalies and were obtained from the department of pathology of our faculty. When the development of topographical features of ischiadic nerve is considered according to the gestational weeks, it was shown that the distances increased in accordance with the age and there was a positive correlation between the two (p < 0.01), however the width of the ischiadic nerve did not increase similarly and there was no significant correlation between its width and the age (p > 0.01). Understanding the structure and course of ischiadic nerve in both gluteal and femoral regions is important during all interventions to these regions due to the potential damage on the nerve itself. The knowledge of topographical features of ischiadic nerve in the prenatal period and its relations with reference points that are used especially in childhood and adults will help to follow up the variations during postnatal and grow up periods (Tab. 2, Fig. 4, Ref. 13).