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Abstract
To administer drugs into the spinal subarachnoid space of unanesthetized and intact
rats and rabbits, a procedure is described whereby a polyethylene catheter (PE-10)
may be inserted through a puncture of the atlanto-occipital membrane and secured to
the skull. Calibration experiments carried out with bromophenol blue dye, 3H-naloxone
and 14C-urea revealed first, that there was little rostro-caudal diffusion of the
injectate along the spinal axis and secondly, that even for compounds such as naloxone
which can rapidly permeate neural tissues, the levels which do appear in the brain
are small following the spinal subarachnoid administration of the drug. Control injections,
administered either acutely or repeatedly over a prolonged period of time, had no
detectable effect on the animal's behavior. These observations, as well as the lack
of pathology in the spinal cords of rats having such catheters for periods of up to
4 months suggests that the implant is well tolerated.