Click on the image or the + sign to view larger image		Re-routing the nerves after damage Re-routing the nerves. A nerve on the left-hand side of the body has been damaged at some distance from its exit point (at the top left) from the spinal cord (orange). This damage makes the whole nerve die right back to its source - hardly any fibres can be seen leaving that part of the spinal cord. In this confocal image, some of the healthy developing nerve fibres adjacent to the dead region have been re-routed to fill in the gap, taking over the function of the damaged nerve. The body’s ability to do this lasts only a short time during foetal development. Research in this area may help to explain the effect of tissue damage caused by intensive care procedures on very premature babies. As their sensory nervous systems are still undergoing development, the re-routing of their nerves following damage can cause permanent confusion to the body map, making it difficult to relate a sensation to its precise location on the body surface. Credit: Simon Beggs