title: Longitudinal enlargement of the lesion after spinal cord injury in the rat: a consequence of malignant edema?
abstract: METHODS
  Experimental animal study.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Quantitative analysis of secondary changes in lesion size after experimental spinal cord injury (SCI) in the rat, with special emphasis to the formation of dorsal column lesions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Slovakia.
  
  
  METHODS
  After SCI in the rat, animals survived for different periods ranging from 5 min to 7 days. Their whole spinal cords were cut transversally into 1 mm thick slabs. On each slab, the lesion profile was outlined. The overall shape of the lesion was reconstructed from a series of consecutive profiles and its length was measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Immediately after injury, a spindle-shaped hemorrhagic contusive lesion was observed, with the length of ~15 mm. After a quiescent phase lasting for at least 1 h, there was a dramatic secondary enlargement of the lesion and its length increased up to 40 mm between 1 and 48 h. The fully developed lesion consisted of the spindle-shaped epicenter and long cranial and caudal protrusions located in the midline between dorsal columns.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We propose that secondary enlargement of the lesion can be explained by posttraumatic swelling. The expanding tissues are pushed out in longitudinal axis along the mechanically weakest parts of the spinal cord. Additional data that support this hypothesis are presented. Our findings indicate that malignant posttraumatic edema might have an important role in pathomechanisms of secondary injury after SCI.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neurobiology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Košice, Slovakia.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tomko
authors.affiliation: Medicolegal and Pathological-Anatomical Department, Healthcare Surveillance Authority, Košice, Slovakia.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Farkaš
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neurobiology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Košice, Slovakia.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Čížková
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neurobiology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Košice, Slovakia.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Vanický
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018450:Disease Progression; D004487:Edema / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005780:Gelatin; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D010865:Pilot Projects; D051381:Rats; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: C014567:Gelatinol; D005780:Gelatin