I Innervation of Muscle in Leprosy with Special Reference to the Muscle Spindle 1 , 2

One of the characteristic features of the neuropathy of lepromatous leprosy is stated to be the preservation of the commonly elicited deep tendon reflexes (9). This suggests the integrity of the reflex arc related to the large proximal limb muscles. Interest in muscle pathology in leprosy has recently been revi ved following experimental (II) and human (8) evidence of parasitization of striated muscle fibers in this disease. Furthermore, there have been isolated reports of bacillary presence in relation to the muscle spindles in leprosy (5, 6). It seemed of interest, therefore, to study changes in muscle spindle innervation not only in commonly denervated but also in proximal muscles in lepromatous leprosy.