We attempted to develop an experimental animal model for peripheral neuropathic pain.
Under sodium pentobarbital anesthesia, both the L 5 and L 6 spinal nerves (group 1) or the
L 5 spinal nerve alone (group 2) of one side of the rat were tightly ligated. For comparison, a
parallel study was conducted with another group of rats (group 3) which received a partial
tight sciatic nerve ligation, a paradigm developed previously as a neuropathy model.
Withdrawal latencies to application of radiant heat to the foot were tested for the next 16 …