[Spinal electrogram evoked by peripheral nerve stimulation in man (author's transl)].

Summated evoked responses to peroneal and tibial nerve stimulation were recorded from surface electrodes placed over the lumbar and thoracic spine of twenty normal adults. The responses consisted of triphasic potentials (mainly negative) which progressively increased in latency at more rostal recording sites. These responses were thought to have a common origin with those recorded from the spinal epidural space. The conduction velocity of the responses to peroneal nerve stimulation was 48.5 m/sec from the lower to the upper thoracic recording site. In twenty patients with spinal cord lesions, responses caudal to the lesion were similar to those recorded in normal adults except six patients with cauda lesion. Six completely paralysed patients were examined soon after injuries, and two were noted to have evoked spinal responses above the lesion, followed by returning of the function in the lower extrimities. These suggest that this method is of prognostic value for predicting recovery of neurologic function after injuries.