Degeneration of Meissner Corpuscles after Spinal Cord Transection in Rats

Abstract

In this study we try to clarify sequential changes in Meissner corpuscles after transection of the spinal cord. Meissner corpuscles stained with cholinesterase in the experimental group were already significantly fewer one week after spinal cord transection. The condition of rats in the first week after the operation was regarded as a spinal shock period. Denervation caused a decrease in the number of stained Meissner corpuscles in the shock period. In the experimental group at 7 weeks after the operation, atrophy of these corpuscles was statistically significant. These rats could not carry their weight on their hind limbs, and this change was regarded as the effect of disuse. The results of this study suggest the possibility of human sensory organs' atrophy after spinal cord injury.