Generating a Mouse Model with a Spinal Cord Injury

Begin with an anesthetized mouse with hair removed on the dorsal side.

Apply ointment to prevent corneal dryness.

Sequentially sterilize the skin using betadine, followed by ethanol.

Inject local anesthesia at the incision site.

Locate the thoracic or T13 vertebra by identifying the last floating ribs. Then, identify vertebrae T8-T12 and make a midline incision.

Remove subcutaneous fat tissue to access the paraspinal muscles.

Clear these muscles to expose the vertebral laminae.

Dissect the laminae of the T9-T10 vertebrae to access the spinal cord.

Transect the spinal cord completely to induce a spinal cord injury or SCI.

Place a piece of subcutaneous fat over the surgical site to protect the spinal cord.

Suture the muscles and connective tissue, then close the skin incision.

The SCI Mouse model is now ready for further studies.

Anesthetize the animals and apply the ophthalmic ointment to the corneas to protect the eyes from drying during the surgical procedure. Then scrub the animal skin three times each with betadine scrub and 70% ethanol.

Before incision, use a syringe with a 25 gauge needle to inject 100 microliters of 0.125% bupivicaine around the incision site as analgesia. Count back fro