Importance of the Arterial Blood Supply to the Rabbit and Guinea Pig Spinal Cord in Experimental Ischemia

Abstract

Spinal cord ischemia belongs to the one of the most frequently occurring results of spinal cord damage, with broad range of several symptoms and complications. The superficial position of fine arterial system of the spinal cord predicts the spinal cord ischemic injury. The laboratory animals, such as rabbits and guinea pigs, serve for the study of spinal cord ischemic injury. The aim of this work was to describe the arterial blood supply to the spinal cord in New Zealand White rabbits and English self guinea pigs, using the corrosion and dissecting technique. In both species, we found variations in arrangement and origin of segmental arteries of descending aorta, the basilar artery, the ventral spinal artery, the dorsal spinal arteries, the artery of Adamkiewicz, and the segmental dorsal and ventral branches arising from the arterial spinal branches. The presence of the artery of Adamkiewicz and nearly regular segmental blood supply to the spinal cord are responsible for the use of rabbit and guinea pig as a simple model of ischemic damage to the spinal cord. The understanding of the arterial arrangement to the spinal cord plays a very important role in avoiding the spinal cord ischemia or infarction during surgical interventions to the spine.

A Histopathological Study of Ischemic and Compressive Paraplegia in Dogs

“…However, interventions in the thoracic cavity of rabbits or rats require a special apparatus for maintaining artificial ventilation and an endotracheal intubation which is so technically difficult, that a cannula often can be introduced into trachea through a tracheotomy only. Moreover, in rabbits another problem appears; the spinal cord lesion leads to a complete urinary retention, which causes an early death of the animal [10]. On the other hand, administration of general anaesthesia to larger animals is simpler; the surgical situation in a thoracic cavity resembles the situation in humans, and as a result are more reliable.…”

“…Originally we considered the utilisation of small laboratory animals in our experiments [10]. We had both, rabbits, as well as rats at our disposal.…”