Histological and histometrical measurement study on human newborn spinal cord

Abstract

Cadavers were collected from the Forensic Medicine Unit of Kirkuk and Tikrit
Teaching Hospital between October (2012) to December(2013) Twenty Iraqi male neonate cadavers with age ranging from 0-28 days were obtained to study the histological features of their spinal cord Laminectomy of the cadavers and dissecting the meninges were performed. The cords were immersed in 10% fonnutin for hardened and fixation. Histological study showed the cross section area of the neonate spinal cord wus enveloped by thin layer of pia matter and separated from under lying white matter by sub pial space.
The white matter divided into three regions anterior, lateral and posterior funicului. White matter consisted of a large number of longitudinal nerve fibers, the diamcter was range from(4-10um), and blood capillary diameter (5-14 um) and dark glial cells(2-6 gm), which produce a myclin sheath around the nerve fibers to give supporting and isolating the fibers from each other. The largest number of longitudinal nerve fibers present in the anterior funicului of' white matter. The gray matter shape was similar to the (H) letter, and consisted of anterior and pusterior homs connected with transverse gray commissure and contained circular to oval- from(7-22 um). The largest number of ncurons were found in the cervical region, followed by the lumbar, thoracie and then sacral segment. Amultipolar pyramidal) ncurons with round nucleus, the cytoplasm and dendrites containing small dark Nissi body, whereas the hillock and axon lack from Nissi substance, were also clearly seen in the section.