Changes in the subarachnoid space after experimental subarachnoid haemorrhage in the dog: scanning electron microscopic observation

Abstract

The possible changes in the subarachnoid space after subarachnoid haemorrhage were studied in animals by using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). About 1 ml/kg of autogenous blood was injected intracisternally in 36 adult mongrel dogs to investigate changes in the subarachnoid space, over periods ranging from immediately after the injection to as long as 6 months. We have come to the conclusion that the injected blood disappears in about one to two weeks; the fibrosis or thickening of the arachnoid membrane appears in one to three weeks, and then returns to normal in a month in instances of rapid recovery, but there are some cases in which fibrosis persists for a long period and becomes chronic. The fact that an increase of fibrous tissue was found in the parietal region, where the injected blood had hardly reached, appears to indicate that the fibrosis is not always limited to the site of the haemorrhage but can occur in remote regions. We also discuss the usefulness of the SEM in the observation of the subarachnoid space, and the finding that vascular specimen preparations can be made by perfusing the brain with 2-10% phosphate-buffered formaldehyde solution.