Rat Model of Chronic Midthoracic Lateral Hemisection

Although most spinal cord injuries (SCI) are anatomically incomplete, only limited functional recovery has been observed in people and rats with partial lesions. To address why surviving fibers cannot mediate more complete recovery, it is important to evaluate the physiological and anatomical status of spared fibers. These experiments require use of animal models. Here we describe a midthoracic unilateral spinal cord hemisection (HX; corresponds to Brown-Sequard lesion in humans) in adult rats. This is a useful animal model for partial injuries because there is a clear lesion of one entire side of the cord with intact fibers remaining on the contralateral side. This model allows the study and comparison of how acute and chronic trauma affect function of the surviving fibers.