• Squeezing or shearing of the spinal cord results in destruction of gray and white matter and a variable amount of hemorrhage (traumatic necrosis of the spinal cord tissue)
• Changes are maximal at the level of injury and one to two segments above and below it
• Complete transections of the spinal cord (below) are rare and result in a complete loss of sensory and motor function below the lesion. A state of spinal shock develops in which all reflex functions in the isolated part of the cord are completely suspended. In most cases, the reflexes return after several weeks and become highly exaggerated.