Fig. 3

The buccal nerve participates in the sensory recovery of the lower lip through nerve collateral compensation. a Sensory disturbance area diagram of the lower lip 12 months after right IAN sacrifice. b Sensory disturbance area diagram after left MN block. c Sensory disturbance area diagram after left MN and right BN block. d Sensory disturbance area diagram after left MN block in normal person. e Schematic diagram of lower lip sensation under compensatory innervation of buccal nerve. f Schematic diagram of mice lower lip dissection. The buccal nerve was marked with green, and the mental nerve was marked with yellow. g Fluorescence display of BNs and MNs after tissue clearing procedure of Thy1-YFP mice lower lip. Bilateral MNs were marked with red boxes and the fibers of BNs were marked with yellow boxes (scale bar: 150 μm). h Fluorescence display of BNs and MNs of Thy1-YFP mice lower lip after right MN sacrifice. The collateral compensation was marked with blue boxes (scale bar: 200 μm). The autofluorescence of collateral compensation fibers was inferior to natural intact nerve axon