PHYSIOLOGY OF THE SPINAL CORD

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Abstract
In recent years considerable attention has been given to chordotomy in relation to tone and motor function. The idea that dystonic movements and spasticity might be benefited by section of certain tracts in the cord opened an intriguing field of investigation.1In studying some 100 patients for whom I have made sections in the cord, I have arrived at certain conclusions concerning the physiology of the cord of man. This paper deals with the results obtained with two types of anterior chordotomy in man—complete and incomplete. The anterior columns were sectioned in one type and preserved in the other. The pyramidal tracts were mildly injured in chordotomies of both types. All the patients had normal motor systems. COMPLETE ANTERIOR CHORDOTOMY For a time it was my policy, in attempting to cut the spinothalamic tracts, to make an extensive section in the anterior portion of the cord. The section was

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