The effects of ischemia on long-tract neural conduction in the spinal cord

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Abstract
The effects of ischemia on neural conduction in the monkey (Macaca fascicularis) spinal cord were studied. In 6 monkeys generalized ischemia of the spinal cord was created by bleeding the animals to a hypotensive level below the lower limits of autoregulation in the spinal cord. The progressive development of spinal cord ischemia was documented by blood-flow measurement using the H2 clearance method. Physiological integrity of the spinal cord was monitored and recorded by the spinal evoked response. The spinal evoked response did not disappear until at least 10 min of profound ischemia. At levels of ischemia 20%-25% of normal blood flow, the spinal evoked response was unchanged. Long-tract neural conduction in the spinal cord is relatively resistant to the effects of ischemia.