Transient focal conduction block following experimental occlusion of the vasa nervorum

Injection of low-dose arachidonic acid into the rat femoral artery occludes the vasa nervorum of the tibial nerve and produces focal and generalized ischemia with transient effects on nerve conduction. Across a severely ischemic segment of the proximal tibial nerve there is a marked fall in amplitude of the compound muscle action potential (CMAP), indicating focal conduction block. There is also significant slowing of maximal motor conduction velocity (MCV) through this nerve segment, but no dispersion of the proximally elicited response. Distally, in a region of less severe ischemia, there is mild slowing of MCV, but no further decrement in the CMAP amplitude. The conduction block begins 5-15 minutes after injection, reaches a nadir at 30 minutes, and persists in more severe cases for at least 2 hours. Despite these prolonged electrophysiologic abnormalities, there is no evidence of axonal degeneration or segmental demyelination.