An animal model of epidural compression of the spinal cord.

A new model of subacute compression of the spinal cord is described. Using an expanding epidural mass, a gradual, progressive, and highly reproducible neurological deficit was induced in rats over a 7-day period, resulting in paraplegia. Studies of spinal cord edema, disruption of the blood-spinal cord barrier, and somatosensory evoked responses, as well as histopathological and microangiographical studies, revealed a marked similarity to changes produced in other spinal compression models and in humans. The model may serve to answer some fundamental questions regarding the pathophysiology and efficacy of various treatment modalities of spinal cord compression.