Pathology of spinal cord injury in experimental lesions.

The marked resurgence of interest and activity which has occurred in recent years in experimental spinal cord injuries is attributable to demonstrations of significant functional recovery in animal models. The recovery was possible after controlled cord trauma. The pathological characteristics of the experimentally produced spinal cord lesion, documented by recent light and electron microscopy studies, demonstrate: (1) the apparent early vulnerability of the central gray matter as opposed to the delay response of the surrounding white matter; (2) the important participation of the microvasculature in developing cord tissue lesion; (3) the important contribution that catacholamine release and substrate deprivation may have in the changes seen in the evolving tissue damage; and (4) the time dichotomy that exists between the immediate degree of functional disability and the period of time required for the tissue lesion to reach histological irreversibility.