PATHOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF DORSAL ROOT GANGLIA AND SPINAL CORD AND SCIATIC NERVE FOLLOWING A CHRONIC CONSTRICTION INJURY OF THE SCIATIC NERVE IN RATS

Objective: To study pathological changes on spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and sciatic nerve itself after sciatic nerve injury in rats Design: Randomized experimental study Procedure:  Rats were randomly divided into two main groups. Control group (25 rats) without any treatment and treated group (n=50) with induced chronic constriction injury (CCI) of sciatic nerve. The rates of the treated groups were euthanized at intervals, 25 rats after two weeks and the other 25 rats at 4 weeks after injury. Histopathological examinations of sciatic nerve, spinal cord and DRG for each group were done. Results: The sensory neurons of the DRG displayed chromatolysis at two weeks post-injury, while chromatolysis, satellitosis and microgliosis were evident at four weeks post-injury. Wallerian degeneration in the sciatic nerve, and inflammatory cells recruitment with glial cells proliferation in spinal cord, was consistent at four weeks of CCI. Conclusion and clinical relevance:  We concluded that DRG showed deleterious pathological alterations in the sensory neurons following sciatic nerve injury in rats.