title: Analysis and measurement of some sources of variability in experimental spinal cord trauma.
abstract: Experiments were performed on anesthetized cats to determine whether the variability that is common in experimental spinal cord injuries produced by the weight-drop technique can be reduced if a more accurate determination of the actual intensity of the insult to the cord is measured. In addition, determinations of the contribution of such variables as mass of drop-weight, impounder diameter, and animal weight to variability were made. It was found that of the three measures of intensity readily available from a strain gauge transducer, impulse (change in momentum of drop-weight) showed the highest correlation with the histologically determined extent of the lesion. It was shown that the mass of the drop-weight had a significant effect on lesion size even when the gram X centimeter quantification of the injury was constant. Animal weight and impounder diameter did not make a significant contribution to the variability of injury as determined by low-power microscopy.
mesh_terms: D000054:Acceleration; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D002415:Cats; D005260:Female; D006112:Gravitation; D008297:Male; D008722:Methods; D009991:Oscillometry; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000473:pathology; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D013314:Stress, Mechanical