Belonging to the category of mixed nerves, the sciatic nerve derives from the union of a part of the nerve fibers of the last two lumbar spinal nerves (L4 and L5) and of the first three sacral spinal nerves (S1, S2 and S3), a union that takes place in the gluteus region, approximately at the level of the piriformis muscle.
In moving down the lower limb, the sciatic nerve passes along the posterior part of the thigh and, once it has passed the popliteal cavity, branches into various branches that are distributed between the posterior portion of the leg, the lateral-anterior portion of the leg, the back of the foot and the sole of the foot.
As a mixed nerve, the sciatic nerve has both motor functions (ie controls muscles) and sensory functions (ie innervates skin areas).
When subjected to compression, the sciatic nerve becomes inflamed; inflammation of the sciatic nerve is also like sciatica or sciatica.
The human nervous system comprises 3 types of nerves:
- The efferent nerves (or motor nerves), which carry information from the central nervous system (CNS) to the so-called periphery. These nerves control the movements of the muscles, therefore they are at the head of the motor sphere.
- The afferent nerves (or sensory nerves), which carry information from the periphery to the central nervous system. These nerves have the task of capturing what happens on the skin surface, organs, etc. and communicating it to the CNS, waiting for a response.
The afferent nerves are at the head of the sensitive sphere. - The mixed nerves, which play the role of both efferent and afferent nerves.
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