title: Spinal roots of rats poisoned with methylmercury: physiology and pathology.
abstract: The evoked potentials in the ventral and dorsal roots were recorded independently by stimulating the sciatic nerve of both control and methylmercury-poisoned rats. Poisoned rats showed markedly decreased amplitudes but normal latencies of the potentials evoked in the dorsal roots. Potentials evoked in the ventral roots had normal latencies and amplitudes. Pathological correlates indicated acute axonal degeneration of the dorsal roots, with a significant decrease of the large and small myelinated fiber densities. The ventral roots were histologically unremarkable. Our pathological confirmation of the electrophysiologic changes in the methylmercury-poisoned rats enables us to substantially assess the pathophysiological aspects of acute lesions in the spinal roots.
authors.affiliation: Third Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Kagoshima University, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Arimura
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Murai
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Rosales
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Izumo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000473:pathology; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005071:Evoked Potentials; D005727:Ganglia, Spinal / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008767:Methylmercury Compounds / Q000506:poisoning*; D009431:Neural Conduction; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D011930:Reaction Time; D012584:Sciatic Nerve / Q000502:physiology; D013126:Spinal Nerve Roots / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D008767:Methylmercury Compounds