Editing Peripheral nervous system (section)

== Disease ==
{{Main|Peripheral neuropathy}}
Diseases of the peripheral nervous system can be specific to one or more nerves, or affect the system as a whole.

Any peripheral nerve or nerve root can be damaged, called a [[mononeuropathy]]. Such injuries can be because of injury or trauma, or [[compression neuropathy|compression]]. Compression of nerves can occur because of a tumour mass or injury. Alternatively, if a nerve is in an area with a fixed size it may be trapped if the other components increase in size, such as [[carpal tunnel syndrome]] and [[tarsal tunnel syndrome]]. Common symptoms of [[carpal tunnel syndrome]] include pain and numbness in the thumb, index and middle finger. In peripheral neuropathy, the function one or more nerves are damaged through a variety of means. Toxic damage may occur because of diabetes ([[diabetic neuropathy]]), alcohol, heavy metals or other toxins; some infections; autoimmune and inflammatory conditions such as [[amyloidosis]] and [[sarcoidosis]].<ref name=":0" /> Peripheral neuropathy is associated with a sensory loss in a "glove and stocking" distribution that begins at the peripheral and slowly progresses upwards, and may also be associated with acute and chronic pain. Peripheral neuropathy is not just limited to the somatosensory nerves, but the autonomic nervous system too ([[autonomic neuropathy]]).<ref name=":0" />