Microvasculature of the human spinal cord

Abstract

✓ The regional differences in spinal microvasculature are outlined from microangiographic examination of the human spinal cord. Five to eight central arteries arise from each centimeter length of the anterior spinal artery in the cervical region, two to five in the thoracic region, and five to twelve in the lumbosacral region. The central arteries in the cervical and lumbar cord in addition to being more numerous are of larger caliber than those in the thoracic cord. Terminal arterioles do not interconnect within the spinal cord but give rise to interlocking capillary networks, which are more numerous in the gray than in the white matter. Arteries in the lateral columns are elongated with flattening of the spinal cord due to a space-occupying lesion. Correlation of the distortion of the small vessels with various types of spinal cord displacement is described.