Experimental cervical myelopathy: autoradiographic studies of spinal cord blood flow patterns

The cervical spinal cord was compressed at one (C5) or two (C4,C5) levels in eight awake dogs by advancing screws through the vertebral bodies into the spinal canal until minimal limb weakness occurred. Ischemia of the cervical cord was produced by ligation of vertebral and spinal arteries in four anesthetized dogs, of which two had previously undergone cord compression at two levels. The neurological and histological findings were studied. By means of antipyrine [14C]autoradiography, qualitative changes of blood flow in dogs with compression and/or ischemia of the cervical spinal cord were compared to flow patterns in normal dogs. The authors conclude that the neurological and histological changes produced by spinal cord compression, ischemia and their combination correlate with altered patterns of blood flow within the cervical spinal cord.