Abstract： Objective To investigate the therapeutic effect of alcohol on the treatment of acute spinal cord decompression sickness in rabbits.Methods Fifty-eight healthy New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into 3 groups:the alcohol group ( group A,n =25 ),the saline solution group ( group B,n =20) and the control group ( group C,n =13).Rabbits in the animal chamber were pressurized with compressed air to a pressure of 0.6 MPa in 15 min,stayed at the said pressure for 60 min,then,were decompressed to atmospheric pressure with linear speed in 5 min.The model of acute spinal cord decompression sickness was successfully developed in 31 animals,of which 15 animals were in group A,8 animals in group B and another 8 animals in group C.The rabbits in group A were injected 25％ alcoholic solution (3 ml/kg) through the ear vein 30 min after decompression ; the animals in group B were treated with 3 ml/kg normal saline instead,while the rabbits in group C were left without any treatment.Spinal cord evoked potential (SCEP),magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and Tarlov behavior scores were measured to assess motor neurologic function before compression and 3 days after decompression.All the animals were sacrificed,samples of spiral cord were taken from the animals of each group and HE staining was made for light microscopy.Results ( 1 ) Tarlov behavior scores:group A,4.31 ± 0.63 ; B group,1.25 ± 0.50 ( compared with group A,P ＜ 0.01 ) ; group C,1.20 ± 0.83 ( compared with group A,P ＜0.01 ).(2) MRI:animals in group A displayed mild swelling in thoracolumbar cord; animals in group B and C displayed moderate swelling,with normal morphology of spinal cord disappeared below the level of thoracolumbar cord and focal and diffuse hyper-intensity could be seen in the spinal cord on T2W images.(3) SCEP:for group A,no significant changes could be noted in the latency and amplitude of N21,3 days after decompression; for group B and group C,the latency of N21 delayed obviously 3 days after decompression,when it was compared with that before compression( P ＜ 0.01 ),and the amplitude of N21 also decreased obviously (P ＜0.01 ).(4) Group A:under the light microscope,HE staining revealed that there were only little sporadic hemorrhage and inflammatory infiltration in the spinal cord.Group B and group C:urine retention and intestinal tympanites could be observed,in addition,under the light microscope,local haemorrhage,extensive congestion and inflammatory cell infiltration could be observed in the spinal cord.Conclusions Alcohol treatment seemed to be a quick and effective method for the treatment of acute spinal cord decompression sickness.