Ultrasound of the sural nerve: Normal anatomy on cadaveric dissection and case series.

tThe sural nerve is a small sensory nerve innervating the lateral aspect of the ankle and foot. Clinicalsymptoms of pathology may present as atypical sensory changes in this region. We present the normalanatomy and ultrasound technique for examination of the sural nerve based on an anatomical dissection,as well as imaging in a normal volunteer. We also present a case series (n = 10) of different conditionsof the sural nerve that we encountered based on a review of interesting cases from 4 institutions. Thepathological conditions included neuropathy related to stripping or venous laser surgery, compressionby abscess, Lyme disease, nerve tumors, traumatic transsection, and encasement by fibrous plaque andedema. Ultrasound with its exquisite resolution is the preferred imaging method for examining the suralnerve in patients with unexplained sensory changes at the lateral aspect of the ankle and foot.