Acute ischemic transection of peripheral axons in angiopathic neuropathy: No demyelination of fasciculus gracilis or decreased number or size of cytons of spinal ganglion neurons

Demyelination (loss of myelin profiles) of posterior columns of the spinal cord in patients with neuropathy coming to autopsy usually has been interpreted as secondary to distal degeneration of peripheral nerve fibers. Previous experiments to test whether these pathologic changes could result from transecting peripheral nerves produced conflicting results. In a patient with necrotizing angiopathy in whom extensive regions of fiber transection began proximally at midthigh level, the density and diameter distribution of myelinated fibers of the fasciculus gracilis and the number and size distribution of cytons of L3 and L5 spinal ganglia have been obtained and compared with normative measurements. No discernible alteration was found, suggesting that acute degeneration of peripheral nerve fibers is not associated with loss or decrease in size of cytons of spinal ganglia or with loss or decrease in size of myelinated fibers in the fasciculus gracilis.