Pathological changes of dorsal root ganglion of the lumbar spinal cord after sciatic nerve injury by high velocity missile projectile

Objective To study the pathological changes of dorsal root ganglion of the lumbar spinal cord in the rabbit after right sciatic nerve injury by high velocity projectile with the technology of immunohistochemistry staining and image analyzing. Methods 25 rabbits were used in this experiment. The target was the midpoint of the lateral body surface projection of the right sciatic nerve in rabbit. The missile projectile was 0.38 g ball with 0.65 g charge. The following pathological changes and the expression of NOS (1st,3rd,7th,14th day) of dorsal root ganglion of the lumbar spinal cord were found under microscope. The number of neurons and the area of neuron were counted also. Results Hemorrhage,edema,shrinkage and necrosis of neurons were observed,and the expression of NOS increased significantly in the 3rd day. The number of neurons and the area of neuron decreased in the 7th day. Conclusion The pathological changes of dorsal root ganglion of the lumbar spinal cord in the rabbit after right sciatic nerve injury by high velocity projectile were severe.