Arterial Peculiarities of the Thoracolumbar Spinal Cord in Rabbit

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the arterial blood supply of the thoracolumbar spinal cord in rabbit. The study was carried out on twenty adult New Zealand white rabbits. Ten rabbits were used in the corrosion technique and ten rabbits in the dissection technique. After the killing, the vascular network was perfused with saline. Batson's corrosion casting kit no. 17 © was used as a casting medium. After polymerisation of the medium, in ten rabbits the maceration was carried out in KOH solution, and in ten other rabbits, formaldehyde was injected by the dissection technique into the vertebral canal. We found high variability of segmental arteries supplying blood to the spinal cord. There are 12 intercostal arteries and 1 costo-abdominal artery. Dorsal branches arising from the dorsal surface of the aorta thoracica were found as follows: in 70% of the cases, 9 pairs were present; in 20% of the cases 8 pairs; and in 10% of the cases 10 pairs. The paired arteriae lumbales were present in 6 pairs in 90% of the cases and in 5 pairs in 10% of the cases. On the dorsal surface of spinal cord, we found two irregular longitudinal arteries in 70% of the cases, no longitudinal arteries in 20% of the cases and three irregular longitudinal arteries in 10% of the cases receiving dorsal branches of rami spinales. Among the dorsal branches observed in the thoracic region, 60.5% were left-sided, 39.5% right-sided and in the lumbar region, 52.5% were left-sided and 47.5% right-sided.

Arterial Blood Supply to the Spinal Cord in Animal Models of Spinal Cord Injury. A Review

“…The remaining three, four, or five pairs are branches of the highest intercostal artery. The paired arteries at the same level show high variability in their arrangement (Mazensky et al, ). The segmental DIAs are paired arteries with independent origin from the dorsal surface of the thoracic aorta (Craige, ; Nejedlý, ; Popesko et al, ).…”

“…In 60% of cases, the LAs of the same level arise as independent branches with origin at the same level. In the rest of cases, their origin is highly variable (Mazensky et al, ; Fig. ).…”

“…The dorsal branches arising from the spinal branches and entering the DSAs in the thoracic region are left‐sided in 60.5% of cases and right‐sided in 39.5%. In the lumbar region, they are left‐sided in 52.5% of cases and right‐sided in 47.5% (Mazensky et al, ).…”

Anatomical study of the arterial blood supply to the thoracolumbar spinal cord in guinea pig

“…The presence of ventral and dorsal branches of the spinal arteries in the cervical segment of the spinal cord in rabbits was observed on the right side in 46.2 % of cases and on the left side in 53.8 % of cases. Along the entire thoracolumbar segment of the spinal cord in rabbit, the ventral branches of the spinal arteries were left sided in 62.5 % of cases and right sided in 37.5 % of cases (Mazensky et al 2011), and the dorsal branches were left sided in 56.5 % of cases and right sided in 43.5 % of cases (Mazensky et al 2013). In the mouse, the spinal cord blood supply has only been partially described (Lang-Lazdunski et al 2000).…”

“…Two much less constant dorsal spinal arteries forming irregular connections between each other were described in rats (Woollam and Millen 1955). The dorsal spinal arteries in the cervical segment of the spinal cord in rabbit were present in numbers of two or they were absent (Mazensky et al 2012), and in the thoracolumbar segment they were present in numbers of two or three or were absent (Mazensky et al 2013). The number of dorsal spinal arteries in mouse differs from study to study.…”