Spine
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This study examined the ability of somatosensory-evoked and dermatomal-evoked potentials to predict motor return after acute spinal cord injury. Fifty-seven of 102 patients who were studied with somatosensory-evoked potentials and dermatomal-evoked potentials were followed for more than 1 year, and their initial electrophysiologic studies were correlated with motor improvement. ⋯ Both the initial physical examination and evoked potentials were reasonable predictors of further motor improvement. However, evoked potentials added little or no useful prognostic information to the initial physical examination in either complete or incomplete spinal cord injury patient groups.
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The attachments and orientation of every fascicle of the lumbar erector spinae were determined in five cadavers and recorded radiographically. Little variation was found in the sites of muscle attachment, which enabled the construction of maps whereby these sites could be plotted on clinical radiographs or models of the lumbar spine. When all fascicles were plotted on 21 clinical radiographs using the maps previously developed, no significant difference in the orientation of fascicles was found compared with that observed in cadavers. This result vindicates the technique used to plot the location of individual fascicles of the lumbar back muscles.