How long is the longest nerve in the body and where is it?

Answer 1

It's the sciatic nerve, in the leg. It supplies the nerves of the skin of the leg, as well as the muscles of the foot and the back of the thigh. Sciatica, an inflammation of the sciatic nerve, is a common source of leg pain.

Answer 2

If you want an anatomically accurate answer – a tie between the median and ulnar nerves. If you want the anatomically inaccurate but generally preferred answer – sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve begins at about the middle of the buttocks deep to all of the muscles. It travels down the back of the thigh deep to the hamstring muscles. Just above the knee, it splits into the tibial nerve and the common fibular nerve. The tibial nerve is longer than the common fibular nerve because one of its inches, the medial plantar nerve, goes on the sole of the foot all the way to the end of the big toe. It has been said that the sciatic nerve is the longest nerve because they are talking about the sciatic nerve and its branches. There are axons (the part of a nerve cell that conducts the electrical information) in the sciatic nerve that go from the spinal cord all the way to the big toe. This is a total distance of a meter or more. These are certainly the longest axons in the body. If you want to be anatomically correct, the longest nerve is a tie between the median and ulnar nerves of the upper limb. These nerves both extend from the shoulder to the wrist. The distance from the shoulder to the wrist is longer than from the hip to the knee (the length of the sciatic nerve) and also greater than the distance from the knee to the ankle (the length of the tibial nerve).

The sciatic nerve through its two branches, tibial and common fibular nerves, innervate all of the muscles of the posterior thigh and all of the muscles of the calf and foot. The tibial and common fibular nerves also carry sensory information from most of the skin of the calf and foot. All of the muscles of the front of the forearm and all of the muscles of the hand are innervated by either the median or ulnar nerves. In addition,
these two nerves carry sensory information from some of the skin of the forearm and most of the skin of the hand

Answer 3

In humans, the sciatic nerve is usually considered the longest. It runs from the foot up to the lower spine, where it connects with the spinal column. In an average human, this nerve is about 3 feet long.

If you're asking more generally, then the longest nerve will belong to the animal with a nervous system as well as the longest body. In this case, consider that a Blue Whale has nerves that communicate between its tail and its brain - about 75 feet. The longest squid ever recorded had tentacles 120 feet long.

For more information, see:

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-sciatic-nerve.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Largest_body_part
http://www.sci-info-pages.com/2006/06/researchers-stretch-nerve-fibers-to.html

Answer 4

The sciatic nerve is a large nerve that runs down the lower limb. It is the longest single nerve in the body.

Answer 5

The sciatic nerve is the longest, its in the leg and starts passing through the pelvis and goes down to the lower third of the thigh, where it splits and has new names, the tibial and common peroneal nerves.

Answer 6

1

Answer 7

Sciatic nerve in your leg.
Dimensions like legs

Answer 8

spinal cord spine

Answer 9

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