Blood Injection Cerebral Vasospasm Rabbit Model

Cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is one of the major causes of cerebral ischemia, and is the leading cause of death and disability following aneurysm rupture. The pathogenesis of cerebral vasospasm is poorly understood, and numerous hypotheses have been proposed to explain its underlying cause. The development of an animal model able to mimic the human condition is extremely useful to try to understand the pathogenesis of post-SAH cerebral vasospasm, ultimately leading to more efficacious treatment. We introduce step-by-step procedures to create a double-hemorrhage model of SAH in rabbits. We also performed angiographic studies of the vertebrobasilar vasculature and measured the diameter of the basilar artery to quantify the post-SAH vasospasm.