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Carpal tunnel syndrome
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Carpal tunnel syndrome is what happens when the median nerve gets compressed as it passes through the wrist.
The carpal tunnel is a genuinely narrow passage: the transverse carpal ligament, a stiff band, closes it off on top, and the carpal bones, the small bones of the wrist, close it off underneath. The nerve does not travel in there alone: nine flexor tendons, the cables that bend the fingers, go with it. Nine tendons and one nerve share a hallway with rigid walls, and the nerve is the one that gives.
When that compression keeps repeating, the nerve can lose some of its myelin, the insulating layer that wraps its fibers, right at that point. And inside its own sheath, edema appears, fluid building up, because flow in its capillaries is interrupted.
In brief
Carpal tunnel syndrome happens when the median nerve is compressed as it passes through the carpal tunnel.
The tunnel is a tight passage between the transverse ligament and the carpal bones, and nine flexor tendons and that nerve run through it.
Nine tendons and one nerve share a hallway with rigid walls, and the nerve is the one that gives.
Compressed over and over, the nerve can demyelinate at that spot, and endoneurial edema arises from an interruption of flow in its capillaries.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingCarpal Tunnel Syndrome, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated