Cryoanalgesia. Ultrastructural study on cryolytic lesion of sciatic nerve in rat and rabbit.

The sciatic nerve was exposed to cryoinjury at different freezing patterns in albino rats and rabbits and the frozen nerves were serially examined with electron microscopy from the time of cryolitic lesion (--60 degrees C for 3 minutes) for up to 28 days. The cryolesion was characterized by a total degeneration of the myelin fibers, while non-myelin fibers and vessels seemed less affected. Regeneration began 8 days after cryolysis. A peculiar pattern was the absence of Schwann cells, while the basal membrane around regenerating axons remained intact. The hypothesis that the basal membrane might play a role is discussed.