Nature 199, 385 - 386 (27 July 1963); doi:10.1038/199385a0

Changes in the Motor Neurones after administering Muscle Relaxant and Convulsant Drugs

Y. Y. AHMED & J. McKENZIE

Department of Anatomy, University of Aberdeen.

MATURE female rats were given 2 mg of the muscle relaxant 'Flaxedil' (gallamine triethiodide) repeated at intervals of 24 h for three days with full clinical recovery between doses. The animals were killed with chloroform 72 h after the last injection of 'Flaxedil' and the tissues fixed by perfusion of 10 per cent formalin and 5 per cent acetic acid via the aorta. The cervical and lumbar enlargements of the spinal cord were sectioned at 7 and stained with 0.5 per cent aqueous cresyl violet to show the Nissl substance in the anterior horn nerve cells. Only the large anterior horn cells were included in the investigation.

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