Spinal shock

Spinal shock was first explored by Whytt in 1750 as a loss of sensation accompanied by motor paralysis with initial loss but gradual recovery of reflexes, following a spinal cord injury (SCI) – most often a complete transection. Reflexes in the spinal cord below the level of injury are depressed (hyporeflexia) or absent (areflexia), while those above the level of the injury remain unaffected. The 'shock' in spinal shock does not refer to circulatory collapse, and should not be confused with neurogenic shock, which is life-threatening. The term "spinal shock" was introduced more than 150 years ago in an attempt to distinguish arterial hypotension due to a hemorrhagic source from arterial hypotension due to loss of sympathetic tone resulting from spinal cord injury. Whytt, however, may have discussed the same phenomenon a century earlier, although no descriptive term was assigned.^[1]