Delayed infarction of spinal cord white matter following x-irradiation.

The thoraco-lumbar spinal cord of 4 cats were subjected to 4000 RADS of X-irradiation. Between 3 and 5 mth afterwards the animals developed weakness of the hind-legs and became uncoordinated. Small infarcts were found in the white matter of the irradiated area of spinal cord, accompanied by neuronal death and oedema of the grey matter close to the central canal. Ultrastructurally the infarcts were shown to stem from necrosis and thrombosis of small blood vessels. Comparison is made with the pathogenesis of spinal cord infarction that occurs in decompression sickness.