ABSTRACT
Compression/decompression procedures can lead to pathological changes in a number of organs in the body, both in animals and man. This review concentrates on observed pathological changes in the brain and spinal cord. Those in the spinal cord stem from deprivation of blood supply to the white matter, for a critical length of time. Changes in the brain, as recorded in man, are not so obvious and consist of small regions of oedema of white matter and necrosis of nerve cells. The walls of arteries in the white matter sometimes show evidence of thickening and may become surrounded by an abnormal space. Degenerative changes in the brain may arise in similar fashion to those in the spinal cord but are apparently not so severe because of a better collateral blood supply.
