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The time course of events following end-to-side nerve coaptation remains unclear. Re-innervation and effects on the donor nerve were assessed following short- and long-term end-to-side neurorrhaphy were investigated in a rat model. One hundred and our Sprague-Dawley female rats were randomized to fresh and pre degenerated repair groups with or without perineurotomy. The right peroneal nerve was sutured to the tibial nerve in an end-to-side manner. Histological and electro-physiological assessment of re-innervation and of the donor nerve was performed at two-three months and at nine-twelve months, post-operatively. The results demonstrated that end-to-side neurorrhaphy could attract axonal sprouts and successfully re-innervate the target muscles. The influence on donor nerve was minimal in late stages, although it did have early negative effect. Double labeling provided evidence that one of the mechanisms of this procedure is probably by collateral sprouting., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest Attached please find our manuscript entitled “Nerve repair, coaptation, axons, collateral sprouting” to be considered for publication in the Journal Injury. The authors have nothing to declare. The authors declare no conflict of interest, (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)