The "ghost" nerve alias sartorial branch of the saphenous nerve: a proof of scientific negligence!

Abstract

Misinterpretation of terminology or new creations of anatomical terms can be observed worldwide. Occurring problemsbecause of these invalid terms might be highlighted by an example. During a literature research concerning the saphenousnerve, the sartorial branch of the saphenous nerve was found. As this nerve does not exist in anatomical textbooks as wellas in anatomical terminology, we searched for the origin of this branch. In a publication from more than 30 years ago, thereason of the creation of this odd nerve was dyslexia of some authors, reading "sartorial" instead of "saphenous". This givesreason to think about the pressure at universities to focus only on quantity and not on quality of papers. Literature researchis sloppy as well as poor; the knowledge sometimes is even poorer, and in addition time to analyse the content of textbooksand papers are not taken. More dreadful is the fact that the manuscript underwent the regular review process, which indicates that the reviewer did not provide the anatomical knowledge as well. Therefore we are all, as scientist or reviewer,always required to research properly and to review only if we are sure to provide the responsibility of a correct judgementtogether with the anatomical background.