A study of the effects of hyperbaric oxygen on the experimental spinal cord injury

The degree of motor recovery in sheep with a controlled contusion to the thoracic spinal cord is compared with the recovery in sheep treated with hyperbaric oxygen and confirms the results of a preliminary series previously reported. The degree of central cord cystic necrosis and degeneration in the surrounding white matter is compared in the control and treated animals. The improvement in motor recovery and in the degree of cord degeneration after treatment with hyperbaric oxygen suggests that ischaemia plays a significant role in the experimental animal with a contusion injury to the spinal cord.