Definition of Nerve biopsy:

A nerve biopsy is the removal of a small piece of a nerve for examination.

How the test is performed:

A nerve biopsy is most often done on a nerve in the ankle or wrist.

The health care provider apply medicine to numb the area before the procedure. The doctor makes a small surgical cut and removes a piece of the nerve. The nerve sample is sent to a lab, where it is examined under a microscope.

How to prepare for the test:

There is no special preparation.

How the test will feel:

When the numbing medicine (local anesthetic) is injected, you will feel a prick and a mild sting. The biopsy site will be sore for a few days after the test.

Why the test is performed:

Nerve biopsy may be done to help diagnose:

• Axon degeneration (destruction of the axon portion of the nerve cell)
• Damage to the small nerves
• Demyelination (destruction of parts of the myelin sheath covering the nerve)
• Inflammatory nerve conditions (neuropathies)

Additional conditions under which the test may be performed:

• Alcoholic neuropathy
• Axillary nerve dysfunction
• Brachial plexopathy
• Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (hereditary)
• Common peroneal nerve dysfunction
• Distal median nerve dysfunction
• Mononeuritis multiplex
• Mononeuropathy
• Necrotizing vasculitis
• Neurosarcoidosis
• Radial nerve dysfunction
• Tibial nerve dysfunction