What is Nerve Innervation?
Nerve innervation is a term used to describe the distribution of nerves across the body and to particular areas, along with the supply of nerve impulses. Doctors study nerve innervation extensively in medical school, often with the assistance of dissection in an anatomy laboratory, and they are responsible for knowing how every nerve in the body is distributed. Understanding nerve innervation is key to the diagnosis and treatment of many medical conditions, ranging from diagnosing neurological problems to learning to avoid critical nerves during general surgery. The nervous system starts with the brain, which descends to the spinal cord. Nerves branch off in all directions and they lead to many different parts of the body. The optic nerve, for example, innervates the eye, and it is a classical example of dense nerve innervation, meaning that many nerves are clustered into a very small area. Nerves can be voluntary or involuntary, depending on where they originate and what they do. Volu
