Oxygen tension in spinal cord gray matter during exposure to hyperbaric oxygen.

Adult female rats were exposed to 60 psig of 100% oxygen for 60 minutes. Oxygen tensions in the gray matter of the lumbosacral enlargement of the spinal cord, electroenecephalograms, electrocardiograms, and respirations were monitored before, during, and after the compression periods. Oxygen tensions were found to rise sharply to as high as 1050 mm Hg during compression and remained at significantly high levels throughout the entire hour of exposure. These data support the hypothesis that spinal cord lesions induced by exposure to hyperbaric oxygen are the result of excessive tissue oxygenation.