Note on the Degenerations following Double Transverse, Longitudinal, and Anterior Cornual Lesions of the Spinal Cord

Albert S. Grünbaum
1894 Journal of Physiology  
THE degenerative effects of simple section of the cord are now fairly well known. But there are various other possible injuries to the cord, the results of which have not been investigated. Some of these I propose to take into account in the following communication. The double transverse divisions were done on monkeys and the longitudinal divisions and anterior cornual lesions on cats. The cord was laid bare in the required region and then divided:-transversely by blunt-pointed scissors,
more » ... dinally with a Paget's knife, or the anterior cornu injured with a bent needle. The chief difficulties are :-(1) to ensure that the second transverse division shall be complete. Owing to the retraction of the cord after the first division this is by no means easy. (2) In the longitudinal division, to find and keep to the middle line and to be sure of dividing the anterior commissure. Haemorrhage rarely presents any difficulty unless the venous sinuses along the back of the vertebral bodies have been wounded. Deep horsehair sutures were used for the muscles and the same material for the skin sutures. A collodion dressing was theni applied. The stitches remained in for the whole time the animals were kept alive, except in the case of one cat. Either operation can be performed in 30-40 minutes from beginning to end. The animals were kept in a menagerie at a temperature between 700 F. and 800 F. Shock, as a whole, was conspicuous by its absence. One operation also was done in which, as well as the double division of the cord, one of the posterior roots going to the isolated portion was cut, centrally to the ganglion, but the histological result was not obviously different from that of the others,
doi:10.1113/jphysiol.1894.sp000508 pmid:16992173 fatcat:i7b7g5amxraczkvc2c2tqsjaf4