J.Jpn. Surg. Soc.. 83(9): 1029-1033, 1982

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Report on the annual meeting

N. HYPOGASTRICUS AND N. PELVICUS, THEIR IMPORTANCE IN THE COURSE OF RADICAL SURGERY OF RECTAL CANCER

The anatomical dissection of N. hypogastricus and N. pelvicus was done on some fetuses and operative specimens. A special attention was paid to the anatomical relationship between the course of these nerves and the operative dissecting layer around the rectum which was universally accepted in the rectal cancer surgery in Japan.
As a result of the dissecting research, it can be realized that both nerves, in their full course, are situated within the area which have to be removed in the radical surgery of the rectal cancer. This is the reason why the consequences after the removal of these nerves are indispensable.
The details of the disturbances of sexual, urinary and defecational function were examined by means of paperes questionaires to the patients who had been treated with one of the sphincter-preserving operations.
The clinical sequelae of the disruption of the hypogastric nerve and pelvic nerve can be summarized as follows.
Loss of election, incomplete contraction of urinary bladder nd weakness of internal sphincter of anal canal appear as a result of amputation of the pelvic nerve.
Removal of the hypogastric nerve results in loss of ejaculation, incomplete contraction of urinary bladder and disturbance of the intestinal movement.
Finally, a short discussion was made on the operative technique how to preserve one or both of these nerves.

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