Fig. 7. Nerve injury score for sections obtained 4 days after a 1-h intrathecal infusion of 2.5% levobupivacaine (n = 21), 2.5% bupivacaine (n = 17), 2.5% dextrobupivacaine (n = 19), or normal saline (n = 17). Nerve injury was evaluated for sections obtained 10 mm caudal to the conus 4 days after infusion. Each fascicle present in the cross section was assigned an injury score of 0–3 (where 0 = normal, 1 = mild, 2 = moderate, and 3 = severe). The injury score for each rat was then calculated as the average score of all fascicles in the cross section. Data are presented as mean ± SEM. * P < 0.05 compared with saline.