Anatomical study of the arterial blood supply to the thoracolumbar spinal cord in guinea pig

Abstract

Guinea pigs are frequently used as experimental models in studies of ischemic spinal cord injury. The aim of this study was to describe the arterial blood supply to the thoracolumbar spinal cord in 20 adult English self guinea pigs using the corrosion and dissection techniques. The dorsal intercostal arteries arising from the dorsal surface of the thoracic aorta were found as follows: in eight pairs in 70% of cases, in seven pairs in 20% of cases and in nine pairs in 10% of cases. Paired lumbar arteries were present as seven pairs in all the cases. The occurrence of the ventral and dorsal branches of the spinal rami observed in the thoracic and lumbar region was higher on the left than on the right. The artery of Adamkiewicz was present in 60% of cases as a single vessel and in 40% of cases as a double vessel. On the dorsal surface of the spinal cord, we found two dorsal spinal arteries in 60% of cases and three in 40% of cases. The presence of the artery of Adamkiewicz and nearly regular segmental blood supplying the thoracolumbar part of the spinal cord in all our studied animals is the reason for using guinea pigs as a simple model of ischemic damage to the thoracolumbar part of the spinal cord.

Arterial Blood Supply to the Spinal Cord in Animal Models of Spinal Cord Injury. A Review

“…There are 12 pairs of DIAs in the guinea pig as paired segmental branches (Nejedlý, ; Shively and Stump, ; Popesko et al, ; Mazensky et al, ). The number of DIAs with origin from the costocervical trunk and the highest intercostal artery is not consistent in all animals.…”

“…) and with cranio‐caudal division (in 40% of cases) with a high degree of variability in number. An independent origin of DIAs at the same level is present in 30% of cases (Mazensky et al, ).…”

“…Shively and Stump () described an independent origin as well as the formation of a common trunk of the arteries at the same level. The origin of the first six pairs is from the abdominal aorta and the seventh pair originates in 90% of cases from the median sacral artery (Mazensky et al, ). The origin of the last two pairs from the median sacral artery is present in 5% of cases and the origin of all seven pairs from the abdominal aorta appears in 5% of cases.…”

“…In 60% of cases, the LAs originate at the same level from a common trunk. In 40% of cases, their origin is independent at the same level (Mazensky et al, ).…”

“…The VSA is an unpaired uninterrupted (Mazensky et al, ) or interrupted trunk (Knox‐Macaulay et al, ) running in the ventral median fissure of the spinal cord. Left‐sided ventral branches entering the VSA in the thoracic region are present in 69.5% of cases and right‐sided in 30.5% of cases.…”