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Article: The spinal cord.
- Article from:
- Science Weekly
- Article date:
- October 23, 2007
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Science Weekly, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Background
Perhaps due to the publicity surrounding Christopher (Superman) Reeve's spinal cord injury, caused by a riding accident, many people know that spinal cord injury can result in paralysis. As a result of spinal cord injury, some people cannot walk, others cannot move either their arms or their legs, many cannot go to the bathroom on their own, and some cannot breathe on their own. The extent of paralysis is largely due to the site of the injury. If the top of the spinal cord is injured, as in Christopher Reeve's case, the entire body below the site of the injury may be paralyzed. If the injury is lower down on the spinal ...